Boryana Angelova-Igova | National Sports Academy (original) (raw)

Papers by Boryana Angelova-Igova

Studia ethnologica Croatica, Dec 29, 2023

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Filosofiya-Philosophy

This paper aim is to compare the different policies regarding women in sports and their criticism... more This paper aim is to compare the different policies regarding women in sports and their criticism from the so-called “sporting feminismˮ. In sports, as a miniature world, we can clearly see the inconsistencies between political goals and the philosophical theories behind them. The study traces chronologically the emergence of different feminist views that emerged in response to existing policies policies purporting to be pro-women.. There are polices for the inclusion of women in the so-called “maleˮ professions, and in sports as well. But this inclusion is reduced to carrying out hard and low-paid activities, often excluding women from being able to make independent decisions in their own professional environment. Through the methods of the philosophy of sport, which is an interdisciplinary direction, the article looks for problems, benefits and opportunities regarding the better realization of female athletes.

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International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health

Background: The popularity of using the advice of a personal trainer is increasing in Poland and ... more Background: The popularity of using the advice of a personal trainer is increasing in Poland and currently most gyms offer the possibility of training under the supervision of a professional. Personal trainers present a multifaceted nature into physical activity and become their clients’ guides in achieving sporting goals. Physical trainers also work in sports clubs and supervise the training of people professionally involved in sport. Aim: Given the professional role that they play, this article aimed to analyze the knowledge and attitudes of personal trainers towards using prohibited measures to improve performance in sport, as well as counteraction measures. Methods: The study used a questionnaire created by the authors containing closed, semi-open, and open questions. Results: The results of the presented research indicate that most physical trainers and students educated in this field have a negative attitude towards the use of prohibited measures that increase performance but ...

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Proceeding book Vol.1

Sport is a mirror of the culture in which it develops, therefore analyzing the problems and trend... more Sport is a mirror of the culture in which it develops, therefore analyzing the problems and trends in sport we have the opportunity to see a simplified model of society itself. The subject of our study is to understand how much our society is a subject of a gender stereotypes and to which extent contemporary women and men are free to express themselves in any public sphere of their choice. The case with sports officials sheds light on this problem. In the period May 2021 - January 2022, we conducted a study, within the international project Raising the growth and participation of female sports officials in Europe (WINS Project), supported by the Erasmus + Sport program, on the state and attitudes of Bulgarian sports officials, in all sports. We noticed several facts, typical for the modern Bulgarian society: Bulgarian women do not suffer from strong gender stereotypes regarding what is a “male” or a “female” occupation. However, we notice a low level of involvement of women as offic...

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Българска етнология, 2019

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Diogenes, 2020

The philosophy of education interprets, discusses and criticizes various educational policies and... more The philosophy of education interprets, discusses and criticizes various educational policies and strategies. One of the important missions of modern education is the development of critically thinking citizens possessing general culture, intellect and reflexivity of thought. Quality education presupposes the establishment of conditions for the development of these important educational characteristics through the teaching of humanities and social sciences and their improvement and enrichment in the research aspect. This article aims to acquaint Bulgarian intellectual community with a relatively new philosophical direction, such as the philosophy of sport and to clarify the meaning and mission of this philosophy in the broader field of philosophy of education.

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The Body-machine from Michael Phelps to Oscar Pistorius discusses in retrospection the utilitaria... more The Body-machine from Michael Phelps to Oscar Pistorius discusses in retrospection the utilitarian view about the body that should be productive. From a utilitarian perspective, the body is not personal belonging but is separated from the human and transformed into a working machine. This view about the body raises many ethical problems especially for people that are not so productive such as handicapped people. Evidence for this can be found in professional sport. This process is essential for athletes. In the early 20 th century the athlete's body-machine was produced for the needs of professional sport. Those new athletic body-machines have become very important because they produced symbolic capital for their countries. The products, achievements, and especially the Olympic medals of athletes fulfill the nationalist agenda which, in Europe, was especially influential in that period. Athletes' achievements from international sport competitions produce symbolic capital in a similar way to archeological artifacts or the works of " national " writers. The gold medal and the world record can stimulate national dignity and consolidate people from a certain community. Top athletes are very famous and can become decision makers. However, very often this symbolic capital serves the purposes of state propaganda. Such examples are provided in this paper. The aim of this paper is to demonstrate the inhumane practice of using athletes as gold producing machines rather than letting them develop fully their human potential.

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Sport, Identity and Community

This paper is focused on comparative analysis between Jewish sports in the USA and Jewish gymnast... more This paper is focused on comparative analysis between Jewish sports in the USA and Jewish gymnastic fellowships in Eastern Europe, particularly in Bulgaria, as well as their political, cultural and ethical impact in those regions and countries in the beginning of the 20th century. Special attention is paid to the idea of Muscular Judaism in Max Nordau's philosophy. According to this idea, more physically assured Jews who win sport competitions can transform the long-held stereotype of the weak, intellectual and business-oriented Jew. Further attention is paid to the realization of this philosophy as ideology and practice in the US and Eastern Europe. An example is the Maccabi youth movement which gathers together Jewish youths with athletes of different background – Christian, Muslim etc. As youths are more open-minded and still free from prejudice, youth sports in Europe and USA are very important in this perspective: sport can establish multicultural dialogue. My research is focused on Bulgarian practices and how those practices made and still make Bulgarian society nowadays more aware of cultural diversity in the country and generally on the Balkans. In Eastern and in Central Europe Maccabi has been working with other Catholic, Orthodox and Muslim youth organizations, as proved by documentary photos, contracts and mutual events. The situation in Bulgaria is discussed against European and American background.

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Philosophical Journal of Conflict and Violence

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Problemi na postmodernostta, 2017

In the 19th Century sport was regarded as a local event related to a specific place. In the 20th ... more In the 19th Century sport was regarded as a local event related to a specific place. In the 20th Century from a local event professional sport became national and has had international presence ever since. After that professional sport became a means of State propaganda. Sport nowadays is multinational, but continues its relation to the place and has local significance. However its continuity lies in the propaganda of multinational business corporations.

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DELIBERATE LOSS IN SPORT AS POLITICAL ACHIEVEMENT, 2021

The present study aims to trace back the genealogy of our understanding for deliberated loss in ... more The present study aims to trace back the genealogy of our understanding for deliberated loss in sport, in particular the type of symbolic capital it brings to a given stakeholder - state, company, political party, etc. Of particular interest are cases where success in sport is secondary, after political and / or economic. There are cases where losing brings more symbolic capital than winning. In this sense, our understanding of success in sport should be reconsidered. The article describes in detail specific examples from the history of sports, from the Cold War to the present days. The study is interdisciplinary and includes methods from the philosophy of sport, cultural anthropology, and ethnology

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The article is devoted to the study of personal and national identities on the example of sports ... more The article is devoted to the study of personal and national identities on the example of sports photos as a symbolic capital. The purpose of this study is to show how photography and sports come together, in a way that together contributes to the consolidation of the nation, contributes to national pride and identity, and hence—to forming personal identity on the base of them either. The structural-functional approach is used, in particular, the theory of ‘social action’ by the American philosopher J. G. Mead. Photography is the channel through which the most international language such as sports can be transmitted, and the individual experience by it unified and integrated in the process of forming personal identity. Of particular interest are the photographs of athletes in Europe and how they contribute to the accumulation of symbolic capital for nation-states, and for self-determination of personal identity. The authors note that photography is an important part of people’s daily lives, and its significance goes beyond their nature to entertain. A photographic image provides the basis for identification. A person through a visual image seeks to determine his personal, and then national identity. In today’s world, identity is a dynamic system. In this regard, it can be compared with sports, which also constantly develop and ultimately open up new sports, modify qualification competitions, etc. Another social field that is on the rise at the same time is professional sports. By the mid-20th century, the sport of the privilege of the rich was becoming a mass sport. It was not until the 20th century that workers, women and minority groups had access to sports. The authors conclude that in the context of the importance of interdisciplinary research, which allows revealing the processes of formation of national and personal identity, research of this nature can take on further development. *Keywords: identity, self-identity, self-identification, national identity, self-determination, visual image, punctum, philosophy of sports, social philosophy, symbolic capital.

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Przegląd Politologiczny

In a Requiem for Media Jean Baudrillard described the civil war in Timisoara, Romania, in 1989. H... more In a Requiem for Media Jean Baudrillard described the civil war in Timisoara, Romania, in 1989. He discovered that the war was to a large extent instigated by the mass media. Nowadays, the media have the possibility to decontextualize events and objectify them by placing them in a different context, alongside other decontextualized events. This could be very dangerous and lead to serious national security problems. Media could provoke social turbulence and “real” crimes. My aim in this paper is to describe this problem and show possible solutions. While following the methodology adopted, I examine case studies and analyze specific historical events.

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Diogenes, 2020

The philosophy of education interprets, discusses and cri tici-zes various educational policies a... more The philosophy of education interprets, discusses and cri tici-zes various educational policies and strategies. One of the important missions of modern education is the development of critically thinking citizens possessing general culture, intellect and reflexivity of thought. Quality education presupposes the establishment of conditions for the development of these important educational characteristics through the teaching of humanities and social sci-en ces and their improvement and enrichment in the research aspect. This artic le aims to acquaint Bulgarian intellectual community with a relatively new philosophical direction, such as the philosophy of sport and to clarify the meaning and mission of this philosophy in the broader field of philosophy of education.

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Bulgarian Ethnology , 2019

Ultramarathons are very popular among active citizens in Bulgaria, and this popularity cannot be ... more Ultramarathons are very popular among active citizens in Bulgaria, and this
popularity cannot be understood as just fashion. I believe that there is a deeper social
cause behind this phenomenon, namely the presence of a subculture. The present
study aims to describe the significance of this subculture, and how it is functioning in
Bulgaria in the XXI century. Of particular interest is the way in which the subculture
occurs, the values and worldviews of the participants as well as their class belonging.
This subculture is a micromodel in which we can see more clearly social changes
and attitudes in the dominant culture. I have paid special attention to gender relations
within the group, with the idea of finding out whether it exhibits the same sexists
attitudes toward women that are observed in the dominant culture of contemporary
Bulgaria.
Key words: Philosophy of Sport, Gender, female sport, ethnology, subculture,
long-distance running, sport

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When Violence Became Beautiful, 2018

In this article, I will look at violence from a different perspective – that is, violence regard... more In this article, I will look at violence from a different perspective – that is, violence
regarded as beautiful. For too long, this perspective has been neglected, considered taboo, and it is
precisely due to the controversial character of what the word represents, and to the double standards
used when considering it. Namely that, violence can also be a means of expression in art and
sports, emphasizing the qualities of the artist or athlete, as well as having an aesthetic and ethical
significance. Such violence, of course, needs to be kept within certain limits and subjected to rules.
And, as it turns out, sports rules legitimize violence and make it “beautiful”.

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The focus of this work is the instrumentalization of athletes by totalitarian regimes in Europe w... more The focus of this work is the instrumentalization of athletes
by totalitarian regimes in Europe with propaganda purposes

Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact

Rulon Gardner's epic victory over the great Russian wrestler Alex-ander Karelin in 2000 remains o... more Rulon Gardner's epic victory over the great Russian wrestler Alex-ander Karelin in 2000 remains one of the most compelling moments of the modern Olympics. But, in 2013, after the Games in London 2012, the International Olympic Committee decided to remove wrestling from the Summer Olympic Games, because the sport had low TV ratings. Ultimately , this did not happen. However, what Rulon Gardner said about it is important: " It's the IOC trying to change the Olympics to make it more mainstream and more viewer-friendly instead of sticking to what they founded the Olympics on, and that was basically amateur sports. " 1 Nowadays the Olympic Games are more about winning at all costs, because sports should be attractive, athletes have to break records and win medals. Maximization of the win may even cost athletes' health. There were such examples during the Cold War in the totalitarian regimes. Gold medals were used for the needs of state propaganda. This kind of favoritism towards the win is characteristic for the professional sport that puts interests outside of sport first. It turned out that the focus of the Games is not on the athletes and their natural human desire to show their " agon " (Classical Greek ἀγών—contest), their natural aspiration for winning, or to show their capacity, value and skills to play their favorite game, but to win symbolic capital for their countries, sponsors or everyone that owns the athletes. Athletes have become machines that have to manufacture medals. This work is about maximization of the win and how this maximi-zation impacts on the general perception of trainers that nowadays are replaced by coaches, and about the athletes today who are described and

Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact

Reflecting on Modern Sport in Ancient Olympia: Proceedings of the 2016 Meeting of the International Association for the Philosophy of Sport at the International Olympic Academy by Published by: Parnassos Press – Fonte Aretusa, 2017

The Body-machine from Michael Phelps to Oscar Pistorius discusses in retrospection the utilitaria... more The Body-machine from Michael Phelps to Oscar Pistorius discusses in retrospection the utilitarian view about the body that should be productive. From a utilitarian perspective, the body is not personal belonging but is separated from the human and transformed into a working machine. This view about the body raises many ethical problems especially for people that are not so productive such as handicapped people. Evidence for this can be found in professional sport. This process is essential for athletes. In the early 20 th century the athlete's body-machine was produced for the needs of professional sport. Those new athletic body-machines have become very important because they produced symbolic capital for their countries. The products, achievements, and especially the Olympic medals of athletes fulfill the nationalist agenda which, in Europe, was especially influential in that period. Athletes' achievements from international sport competitions produce symbolic capital in a similar way to archeological artifacts or the works of " national " writers. The gold medal and the world record can stimulate national dignity and consolidate people from a certain community. Top athletes are very famous and can become decision makers. However, very often this symbolic capital serves the purposes of state propaganda. Such examples are provided in this paper. The aim of this paper is to demonstrate the inhumane practice of using athletes as gold producing machines rather than letting them develop fully their human potential.

Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact

According to Rene Descartes and J. O. de La Mettrie the human body is a machine. Moreover K. Marx... more According to Rene Descartes and J. O. de La Mettrie the human body is a machine. Moreover K. Marx insists that the human body in the capitalist society is a means of production. It the 20th century emerges a new type of body machine: the athlete. How the human body is transformed into a machine and what the athlete-machine produces is on focus in this work.

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Studia ethnologica Croatica, Dec 29, 2023

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Filosofiya-Philosophy

This paper aim is to compare the different policies regarding women in sports and their criticism... more This paper aim is to compare the different policies regarding women in sports and their criticism from the so-called “sporting feminismˮ. In sports, as a miniature world, we can clearly see the inconsistencies between political goals and the philosophical theories behind them. The study traces chronologically the emergence of different feminist views that emerged in response to existing policies policies purporting to be pro-women.. There are polices for the inclusion of women in the so-called “maleˮ professions, and in sports as well. But this inclusion is reduced to carrying out hard and low-paid activities, often excluding women from being able to make independent decisions in their own professional environment. Through the methods of the philosophy of sport, which is an interdisciplinary direction, the article looks for problems, benefits and opportunities regarding the better realization of female athletes.

Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health

Background: The popularity of using the advice of a personal trainer is increasing in Poland and ... more Background: The popularity of using the advice of a personal trainer is increasing in Poland and currently most gyms offer the possibility of training under the supervision of a professional. Personal trainers present a multifaceted nature into physical activity and become their clients’ guides in achieving sporting goals. Physical trainers also work in sports clubs and supervise the training of people professionally involved in sport. Aim: Given the professional role that they play, this article aimed to analyze the knowledge and attitudes of personal trainers towards using prohibited measures to improve performance in sport, as well as counteraction measures. Methods: The study used a questionnaire created by the authors containing closed, semi-open, and open questions. Results: The results of the presented research indicate that most physical trainers and students educated in this field have a negative attitude towards the use of prohibited measures that increase performance but ...

Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact

Proceeding book Vol.1

Sport is a mirror of the culture in which it develops, therefore analyzing the problems and trend... more Sport is a mirror of the culture in which it develops, therefore analyzing the problems and trends in sport we have the opportunity to see a simplified model of society itself. The subject of our study is to understand how much our society is a subject of a gender stereotypes and to which extent contemporary women and men are free to express themselves in any public sphere of their choice. The case with sports officials sheds light on this problem. In the period May 2021 - January 2022, we conducted a study, within the international project Raising the growth and participation of female sports officials in Europe (WINS Project), supported by the Erasmus + Sport program, on the state and attitudes of Bulgarian sports officials, in all sports. We noticed several facts, typical for the modern Bulgarian society: Bulgarian women do not suffer from strong gender stereotypes regarding what is a “male” or a “female” occupation. However, we notice a low level of involvement of women as offic...

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Българска етнология, 2019

Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact

Diogenes, 2020

The philosophy of education interprets, discusses and criticizes various educational policies and... more The philosophy of education interprets, discusses and criticizes various educational policies and strategies. One of the important missions of modern education is the development of critically thinking citizens possessing general culture, intellect and reflexivity of thought. Quality education presupposes the establishment of conditions for the development of these important educational characteristics through the teaching of humanities and social sciences and their improvement and enrichment in the research aspect. This article aims to acquaint Bulgarian intellectual community with a relatively new philosophical direction, such as the philosophy of sport and to clarify the meaning and mission of this philosophy in the broader field of philosophy of education.

Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact

The Body-machine from Michael Phelps to Oscar Pistorius discusses in retrospection the utilitaria... more The Body-machine from Michael Phelps to Oscar Pistorius discusses in retrospection the utilitarian view about the body that should be productive. From a utilitarian perspective, the body is not personal belonging but is separated from the human and transformed into a working machine. This view about the body raises many ethical problems especially for people that are not so productive such as handicapped people. Evidence for this can be found in professional sport. This process is essential for athletes. In the early 20 th century the athlete's body-machine was produced for the needs of professional sport. Those new athletic body-machines have become very important because they produced symbolic capital for their countries. The products, achievements, and especially the Olympic medals of athletes fulfill the nationalist agenda which, in Europe, was especially influential in that period. Athletes' achievements from international sport competitions produce symbolic capital in a similar way to archeological artifacts or the works of " national " writers. The gold medal and the world record can stimulate national dignity and consolidate people from a certain community. Top athletes are very famous and can become decision makers. However, very often this symbolic capital serves the purposes of state propaganda. Such examples are provided in this paper. The aim of this paper is to demonstrate the inhumane practice of using athletes as gold producing machines rather than letting them develop fully their human potential.

Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact

Sport, Identity and Community

This paper is focused on comparative analysis between Jewish sports in the USA and Jewish gymnast... more This paper is focused on comparative analysis between Jewish sports in the USA and Jewish gymnastic fellowships in Eastern Europe, particularly in Bulgaria, as well as their political, cultural and ethical impact in those regions and countries in the beginning of the 20th century. Special attention is paid to the idea of Muscular Judaism in Max Nordau's philosophy. According to this idea, more physically assured Jews who win sport competitions can transform the long-held stereotype of the weak, intellectual and business-oriented Jew. Further attention is paid to the realization of this philosophy as ideology and practice in the US and Eastern Europe. An example is the Maccabi youth movement which gathers together Jewish youths with athletes of different background – Christian, Muslim etc. As youths are more open-minded and still free from prejudice, youth sports in Europe and USA are very important in this perspective: sport can establish multicultural dialogue. My research is focused on Bulgarian practices and how those practices made and still make Bulgarian society nowadays more aware of cultural diversity in the country and generally on the Balkans. In Eastern and in Central Europe Maccabi has been working with other Catholic, Orthodox and Muslim youth organizations, as proved by documentary photos, contracts and mutual events. The situation in Bulgaria is discussed against European and American background.

Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact

Philosophical Journal of Conflict and Violence

Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact

Problemi na postmodernostta, 2017

In the 19th Century sport was regarded as a local event related to a specific place. In the 20th ... more In the 19th Century sport was regarded as a local event related to a specific place. In the 20th Century from a local event professional sport became national and has had international presence ever since. After that professional sport became a means of State propaganda. Sport nowadays is multinational, but continues its relation to the place and has local significance. However its continuity lies in the propaganda of multinational business corporations.

Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact

DELIBERATE LOSS IN SPORT AS POLITICAL ACHIEVEMENT, 2021

The present study aims to trace back the genealogy of our understanding for deliberated loss in ... more The present study aims to trace back the genealogy of our understanding for deliberated loss in sport, in particular the type of symbolic capital it brings to a given stakeholder - state, company, political party, etc. Of particular interest are cases where success in sport is secondary, after political and / or economic. There are cases where losing brings more symbolic capital than winning. In this sense, our understanding of success in sport should be reconsidered. The article describes in detail specific examples from the history of sports, from the Cold War to the present days. The study is interdisciplinary and includes methods from the philosophy of sport, cultural anthropology, and ethnology

Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact

The article is devoted to the study of personal and national identities on the example of sports ... more The article is devoted to the study of personal and national identities on the example of sports photos as a symbolic capital. The purpose of this study is to show how photography and sports come together, in a way that together contributes to the consolidation of the nation, contributes to national pride and identity, and hence—to forming personal identity on the base of them either. The structural-functional approach is used, in particular, the theory of ‘social action’ by the American philosopher J. G. Mead. Photography is the channel through which the most international language such as sports can be transmitted, and the individual experience by it unified and integrated in the process of forming personal identity. Of particular interest are the photographs of athletes in Europe and how they contribute to the accumulation of symbolic capital for nation-states, and for self-determination of personal identity. The authors note that photography is an important part of people’s daily lives, and its significance goes beyond their nature to entertain. A photographic image provides the basis for identification. A person through a visual image seeks to determine his personal, and then national identity. In today’s world, identity is a dynamic system. In this regard, it can be compared with sports, which also constantly develop and ultimately open up new sports, modify qualification competitions, etc. Another social field that is on the rise at the same time is professional sports. By the mid-20th century, the sport of the privilege of the rich was becoming a mass sport. It was not until the 20th century that workers, women and minority groups had access to sports. The authors conclude that in the context of the importance of interdisciplinary research, which allows revealing the processes of formation of national and personal identity, research of this nature can take on further development. *Keywords: identity, self-identity, self-identification, national identity, self-determination, visual image, punctum, philosophy of sports, social philosophy, symbolic capital.

Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact

Przegląd Politologiczny

In a Requiem for Media Jean Baudrillard described the civil war in Timisoara, Romania, in 1989. H... more In a Requiem for Media Jean Baudrillard described the civil war in Timisoara, Romania, in 1989. He discovered that the war was to a large extent instigated by the mass media. Nowadays, the media have the possibility to decontextualize events and objectify them by placing them in a different context, alongside other decontextualized events. This could be very dangerous and lead to serious national security problems. Media could provoke social turbulence and “real” crimes. My aim in this paper is to describe this problem and show possible solutions. While following the methodology adopted, I examine case studies and analyze specific historical events.

Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact

Diogenes, 2020

The philosophy of education interprets, discusses and cri tici-zes various educational policies a... more The philosophy of education interprets, discusses and cri tici-zes various educational policies and strategies. One of the important missions of modern education is the development of critically thinking citizens possessing general culture, intellect and reflexivity of thought. Quality education presupposes the establishment of conditions for the development of these important educational characteristics through the teaching of humanities and social sci-en ces and their improvement and enrichment in the research aspect. This artic le aims to acquaint Bulgarian intellectual community with a relatively new philosophical direction, such as the philosophy of sport and to clarify the meaning and mission of this philosophy in the broader field of philosophy of education.

Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact

Bulgarian Ethnology , 2019

Ultramarathons are very popular among active citizens in Bulgaria, and this popularity cannot be ... more Ultramarathons are very popular among active citizens in Bulgaria, and this
popularity cannot be understood as just fashion. I believe that there is a deeper social
cause behind this phenomenon, namely the presence of a subculture. The present
study aims to describe the significance of this subculture, and how it is functioning in
Bulgaria in the XXI century. Of particular interest is the way in which the subculture
occurs, the values and worldviews of the participants as well as their class belonging.
This subculture is a micromodel in which we can see more clearly social changes
and attitudes in the dominant culture. I have paid special attention to gender relations
within the group, with the idea of finding out whether it exhibits the same sexists
attitudes toward women that are observed in the dominant culture of contemporary
Bulgaria.
Key words: Philosophy of Sport, Gender, female sport, ethnology, subculture,
long-distance running, sport

Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact

When Violence Became Beautiful, 2018

In this article, I will look at violence from a different perspective – that is, violence regard... more In this article, I will look at violence from a different perspective – that is, violence
regarded as beautiful. For too long, this perspective has been neglected, considered taboo, and it is
precisely due to the controversial character of what the word represents, and to the double standards
used when considering it. Namely that, violence can also be a means of expression in art and
sports, emphasizing the qualities of the artist or athlete, as well as having an aesthetic and ethical
significance. Such violence, of course, needs to be kept within certain limits and subjected to rules.
And, as it turns out, sports rules legitimize violence and make it “beautiful”.

Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact

The focus of this work is the instrumentalization of athletes by totalitarian regimes in Europe w... more The focus of this work is the instrumentalization of athletes
by totalitarian regimes in Europe with propaganda purposes

Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact

Rulon Gardner's epic victory over the great Russian wrestler Alex-ander Karelin in 2000 remains o... more Rulon Gardner's epic victory over the great Russian wrestler Alex-ander Karelin in 2000 remains one of the most compelling moments of the modern Olympics. But, in 2013, after the Games in London 2012, the International Olympic Committee decided to remove wrestling from the Summer Olympic Games, because the sport had low TV ratings. Ultimately , this did not happen. However, what Rulon Gardner said about it is important: " It's the IOC trying to change the Olympics to make it more mainstream and more viewer-friendly instead of sticking to what they founded the Olympics on, and that was basically amateur sports. " 1 Nowadays the Olympic Games are more about winning at all costs, because sports should be attractive, athletes have to break records and win medals. Maximization of the win may even cost athletes' health. There were such examples during the Cold War in the totalitarian regimes. Gold medals were used for the needs of state propaganda. This kind of favoritism towards the win is characteristic for the professional sport that puts interests outside of sport first. It turned out that the focus of the Games is not on the athletes and their natural human desire to show their " agon " (Classical Greek ἀγών—contest), their natural aspiration for winning, or to show their capacity, value and skills to play their favorite game, but to win symbolic capital for their countries, sponsors or everyone that owns the athletes. Athletes have become machines that have to manufacture medals. This work is about maximization of the win and how this maximi-zation impacts on the general perception of trainers that nowadays are replaced by coaches, and about the athletes today who are described and

Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact

Reflecting on Modern Sport in Ancient Olympia: Proceedings of the 2016 Meeting of the International Association for the Philosophy of Sport at the International Olympic Academy by Published by: Parnassos Press – Fonte Aretusa, 2017

The Body-machine from Michael Phelps to Oscar Pistorius discusses in retrospection the utilitaria... more The Body-machine from Michael Phelps to Oscar Pistorius discusses in retrospection the utilitarian view about the body that should be productive. From a utilitarian perspective, the body is not personal belonging but is separated from the human and transformed into a working machine. This view about the body raises many ethical problems especially for people that are not so productive such as handicapped people. Evidence for this can be found in professional sport. This process is essential for athletes. In the early 20 th century the athlete's body-machine was produced for the needs of professional sport. Those new athletic body-machines have become very important because they produced symbolic capital for their countries. The products, achievements, and especially the Olympic medals of athletes fulfill the nationalist agenda which, in Europe, was especially influential in that period. Athletes' achievements from international sport competitions produce symbolic capital in a similar way to archeological artifacts or the works of " national " writers. The gold medal and the world record can stimulate national dignity and consolidate people from a certain community. Top athletes are very famous and can become decision makers. However, very often this symbolic capital serves the purposes of state propaganda. Such examples are provided in this paper. The aim of this paper is to demonstrate the inhumane practice of using athletes as gold producing machines rather than letting them develop fully their human potential.

Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact

According to Rene Descartes and J. O. de La Mettrie the human body is a machine. Moreover K. Marx... more According to Rene Descartes and J. O. de La Mettrie the human body is a machine. Moreover K. Marx insists that the human body in the capitalist society is a means of production. It the 20th century emerges a new type of body machine: the athlete. How the human body is transformed into a machine and what the athlete-machine produces is on focus in this work.

Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact