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A Comparative Philosophy of Sport and ArtDefining Sport

A Comparative Philosophy of Sport and Art: Defining Sport [I offer an analysis of what sport is. I give special attention to the features that give some sports the status of games. I argue that a distinctive characteristic of these “game sports” is that they are internally driven—a concept I explain. I discuss “game sports” alongside three other kinds of sport—those I call nature sports, performance sports and measured sports. I discuss the distinctive appeal possessed by each of these different kinds of sport. I offer an explanation for why game sports such as soccer, American football, tennis, baseball, cricket and rugby are the most popular spectator sports—why they have a special capacity to draw and hold our attention. It is central to my account of sport that it is autotelic—an activity pursued not for any instrumental purpose but for the pleasure of the activity itself. But this creates a puzzle: sport is often played professionally, raising the question of how an activity that is by nature pursued for its own sake can also be pursued for money? In explaining how the autotelic nature of sport is compatible with professionalism, I introduce the idea of sport as a socially defined activity.] http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png

A Comparative Philosophy of Sport and ArtDefining Sport

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References (8)

Publisher
Springer International Publishing
Copyright
© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021
ISBN
978-3-030-72333-0
Pages
61 –79
DOI
10.1007/978-3-030-72334-7_5
Publisher site
See Chapter on Publisher Site

Abstract

[I offer an analysis of what sport is. I give special attention to the features that give some sports the status of games. I argue that a distinctive characteristic of these “game sports” is that they are internally driven—a concept I explain. I discuss “game sports” alongside three other kinds of sport—those I call nature sports, performance sports and measured sports. I discuss the distinctive appeal possessed by each of these different kinds of sport. I offer an explanation for why game sports such as soccer, American football, tennis, baseball, cricket and rugby are the most popular spectator sports—why they have a special capacity to draw and hold our attention. It is central to my account of sport that it is autotelic—an activity pursued not for any instrumental purpose but for the pleasure of the activity itself. But this creates a puzzle: sport is often played professionally, raising the question of how an activity that is by nature pursued for its own sake can also be pursued for money? In explaining how the autotelic nature of sport is compatible with professionalism, I introduce the idea of sport as a socially defined activity.]

Published: Jun 17, 2021

Keywords: Definition of sport; Sport and games; Nature sports, Performance sports; Professionalism in sport; Sport is autotelic; Sport as an end in itself

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