Personal Worth and Sport (original) (raw)

On Virtue in the Context of Sport

Physical Culture and Sport. Studies and Research, 2009

On Virtue in the Context of SportSport with its long and rich history is and always has been a complex phenomenon of culture, this marvellous world of objectified human spirit, the environment of man's consciousness and its deep dreams and ideals. So, key elements of sport are not limited to the games themselves, but encompass also a strong ethos consisting of a system of values and models of comportment, personal development and human perfection, frequently expressed in philosophical terms. In ancient Greece, philosophical reflection on sport was directly related to anthropology and focused on the human's whole physical, psychical and spiritual prowess and its improvement. Similar cohesion of the sport idea, philosophy and anthropology is also present in de Coubertin's heritage with its special emphasis on pedagogy. Sport carries a huge educational potential as a tool for shaping man on the somatic, mental, emotional, moral and social levels. But contemporary sport itse...

The Role of Cardinal Virtues in Sport

In the last decades virtue ethics in sport has gained much attention. This is not surprising because it seems that some characteristics of this ethical theory successfully respond to very complex situations in sport. The experience shows that merely rules of particular sport do not assure moral sport actions. Already Plato has pointed out that there are two guides of moral actions: laws (or rules) directing us from outside and virtues directing us from inside. He was convinced that virtues are better than laws, since it does not make any sense to promulgate laws among non-virtues persons, because they will disregard them. On the other hand the virtues people are able to find out what is good and what is not regardless of laws. Therefore, it is important to become a good person, since only then also laws or rules make sense. Plato exposes four main virtues: justice, prudence (wisdom), courage (fortitude), and temperance (moderation, self-control). But the question arises why only four virtues and not more? Plato responds that these four virtues represent the whole of virtues. (Republic, 428a) These virtues are evidently connected with Plato‘s construction of human soul. But these four cardinal virtues are not the only virtues, neither in Plato‘s philosophy, but they are the 'hinges', on which all the other virtues turn. They are the necessary foundation and prerequisite for all the others. So, which role can be ascribed to cardinal virtues in sport? For Plato the first and the most important is virtue of justice. It seems that it is also preferential in sport, especially when we think about sport competitions. But, as emphasized the medieval philosophy the source of justice and other virtues is reason. Reason is the essence of human nature and of all moral acts. Therefore to act in accordance with reason – to have the virtue of prudence is the first demand. While prudence refers to individual alone, justice refers to others. Every sport competition, contest, is therefore the field of virtue of justice. The basis of justice is to give everyone his due. Justice put us in a position of a debtor to a fellow-man. This requires that we play fair and honorable. Therefore donated victory is not righteous because it is not owed. Besides that, virtue of justice arranges matters between the individuals and between the individual and community which has a great impact on morality in sport. The third virtue is courage that is directed towards individual itself. Plato already recognizes sport activity as a main mean for development of this virtue. (Laches, 190c) To be courageous and to endure till the end is the essence of courage. It is obvious that courage is essential for any quality sport. The last one is the virtue of temperance which is also directed towards individual itself. At a first glance it appears not suitable for modern times. But, if we take a closer look it can be seen that the athletes cannot succeed without renounce of many unnecessary things.

The Values Associated with the Sport: Analysis and Evaluation of Sportspersonship

There is a general opinion that social and moral values play an essential role in learning sports among children and teenagers. This article identifies some of the values associated with sports. Based on a content analysis of the Code of Sports Ethics of the Council of Europe, the values associated with sportspersonship have been categorized: Commitment, Enjoyment, Respect, Fair Play and Participation. Using this categorization, the article describes the development of an instrument designed to assess sportspersonship in young athletes: the MSQ (Multidimensional Sportspersonship Questionnaire), consisting of 21 typical performance items which show an adequate internal structure. Lastly, in light of developing future training programs to reinforce positive values, an analysis was performed on the relationships between the different categories of values, gender and type of sport.

Athletic Virtue: Between East and West

Sport, Ethics and Philosophy, 2010

Despite the rich philosophical heritage of the East, the connection between athletics and education for character or virtue is more commonly associated with the West. Classical Eastern philosophy does focus on virtue, but it seems to exclude sport as a means of cultivation since the Confucian is uninterested in victory and the Daoist seeks passivity and avoids contention. A closer look reveals, however, that Eastern conceptions of virtue have much in common with those of Ancient Greece so often linked to sport. Combining research in the history and philosophy of sport with analysis of such texts such as the Analects of Kongzi (Confucius), Laozi's Daodejing , Plato's Republic and Epictetus's Handbook , this paper argues that the enlightened practice of sport has the potential to cultivate qualities common both to de and aret . The fact that sport was linked to virtue in Ancient Greece but not Ancient China derives from different ideas about social prestige more than different conceptions of ethical education. Indeed, the enlightened practice of modern sport may develop a more universal kind of virtue; thereby providing common ground upon which to heal the East-West split in a way characterised by mutual respect and emphasising our common humanity

Justification of Dangerous Sports and the Question of Values

The aim of this research is to examine values within dangerous sports. We begin by discussing the article, “The Value of Dangerous Sports” by J. S. Russell (2005), in which such values are associated with self-affirmation. Russell believes that self-affirmation has a close relationship to the ideals of human self-realization, a manner of thinking arising from specifically Western values. In the present article, the discussion is broadened by approaching it from an Eastern perspective based on Zen Buddhism, wherein “selflessness” is understood as a value to the extent that it helps overcome any concept of the self, thereby leading to direct experiencing of what is. Selflessness is demonstrated through the example of the traditional Japanese martial arts path (budō), which is considered a dangerous sport. Thus, it is argued that an alternative result of self-surpassing can be “selflessness,” so that the previous aim of self-affirmation can gradually evolve into an understanding that t...

Moral Values and Ethics in the Independent World of Sport

Univerzita Karlova v Praze, 2008

In his recent work Loland defines "fairness" as "a core value and the moral goal of sport" i. However, fairness is relevant not just for sport but also for the general idea of justice. Therefore, the general meaning of fairness should be defined first before it's specific meaning in sport can be shown. On the other hand and in addition to its general and sport specific meaning, fairness is also relevant to subject-related concepts of justice. For example, in empirical value research acting and deciding means to integrate values "somehow into an organized system of values wherein each value is ordered in priority with respect to other values." ii But the different systems of values or concepts of justice among individuals may change when applied to different situations-a fact which is often neglected or criticised, especially from a deontological point of view. Contrary to philosophical justifications of ultimate values and goals in life, the so called "differentiation of values" is seen here as a good opportunity for moral growth and moral learning. To make this clear this contribution will deal with the following themes: first, I shall discuss the term "fairness" against the background of different ideas of justice (1). Subsequently, I will refer to the significance of fairness in the context of the so-called independent world of competitive sport and its special conditions implied (2), before presenting some of the results of two empirical studies on subject-related concepts of justice (3). Finally, I will consider the moral relevance of normative demands in competitive sports and sport education under the aspect of the differentiation of values (4). 1. Justice as Fairness? You may recall that John Rawls brought the term "fairness" into the focus of his attention when he elaborated his theory of justice iii. For our discourse, it might be of particular interest to note that Rawls based his theory on the assumption that the principles of fairness, i.e. the reciprocal admission of autonomy and the balancing out of social and economic inequalities