The Olympics and Philosophy

by Heather L. Reid (Editor), Michael W. Austin (Editor)

Overview

It is said the champions of the ancient Olympic Games received a crown of olive leaves, symbolizing a divine blessing from Nike, the winged goddess of victory. While the mythology of the ancient games has come to exemplify the highest political, religious, community, and individual ideals of the time, the modern Olympic Games, by comparison, are widely known as an international, bi-annual sporting event where champions have the potential to earn not only glory for their country, but lucrative endorsement deals and the perks of worldwide fame. The Olympics and Philosophy examines the Olympic Movement from a variety of theoretical perspectives to uncover the connection between athleticism and philosophy for a deeper appreciation of the Olympic Pillars of Sport, Environment, and Culture.

While today's Olympic champions are neither blessed by the gods nor rewarded with wreaths of olive, the original spirit and ancient ideals of the Olympic Movement endure in its modern embodiment. Editors Heather L. Reid and Michael W. Austin have assembled a team of international scholars to explore topics such as the concept of excellence, ethics, doping, gender, and race. Interweaving ancient and modern Olympic traditions, The Olympics and Philosophy considers the philosophical implications of the Games' intersection with historical events and modern controversy in a unique analysis of tradition and the future of the Olympiad.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780813140711
Publisher:	University Press of Kentucky
Publication date:	07/27/2012
Series:	The Philosophy of Popular Culture
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	308
File size:	1 MB
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Heather L. Reid is professor and chair of the department of philosophy at Morningside College. She serves on the editorial board of review for the Journal of Philosophy of Sport, and the executive board of the International Association for the Philosophy of Sport and is the author of Philosophical Athlete: Athletics and Philosophy in the Ancient World and co-author of Aretism: An Ancient Sports Philosophy for the Modern Sports World

Michael W. Austin is associate professor of philosophy at Eastern Kentucky University and serves on the executive board of the International Association for the Philosophy of Sport. He is the editor of several publications, including Running and Philosophy: A Marathon for the Mind and Football and Philosophy: Going Deep.

Table of Contents

Introduction 1

Part 1 The Ideal Olympian

A Greatness of Olympic Proportions Michael W. Austin (USA) 9

Machiavelli, the Olympic Ideal, and the Southern Arrow Raymond Angelo Belliotti (USA) 23

What's More than Gold Scott F. Parker (USA) 35

Part 2 Ancient Heritage

The Olympics of the Mind: Philosophy and Athletics in the Ancient Greek World Paul A. Cantor (USA) Peter Hufnagel (USA) 49

Go Tell the Spartans: Honor, Courage, and Excellence in the Ancient Olympic Games Jesús Ilundáin-Agurruza (ESP) 68

The Soul of an Olympian: Olympism and the Ancient Philosophical Ideal of Arete Heather L. Reid (USA) 86

Part 3 Modern Ideals

More than Games: Olympism as a Moral Approach to Sport Douglas W. McLaughlin (USA) Cesar R. Torres (ARG) 101

Olympism between Individualism and Transnationalism Milan Hosta (SLO) 117

Citius, Altius, Fortius, Virtuous Jeffrey P. Fry (USA) 133

Part 4 Ethical Issues

The Olympics and Steroids Stephen Kershnar (USA) 149

Olympic Boxing: A Not So Sweet Science Joseph D. Lewandowski (USA) 161

Should the Olympics Be the Very Best? A Plea on Behalf of the Second-Rate Regan Reitsma (USA) 175

Part 5 Race and Gender Issues

The Strong Men Keep a Comin' On: African American Sports Participation and the Discourse of Public Dissent Pellom McDaniels III (USA) 193

Olympic Amazons and the Cold War: The Rise and Fall of Gender Radicalism Kutte Jönsson (SWE) 214

Buns of Gold, Silver, Bronze: The State of Olympic Women's Beach Volleyball Charlene Weaving (CAN) 228

Part 6 Political Power

The Ethics of Boycotting the Olympics Charles Taliaferro (USA) Michel Le Gall (FRA/CAN) 245

Sport, Patriotism, and the Olympic Games Alun R. Hardman (GBR) Hywel Iorwerth (GBR) 256

Sharing the Moment: On the Olympic Games as Spectacle Matthew Sharpe (AUS) 273

List of Contributors 287

Index 293

Editorial Reviews

"Austin and Reid have done the sports community a great favor in bringing together such a fine collection of philosophical essays on the Olympics. Given the sheer scope of the Olympic Games in modern times, this book will be a critical companion to those who want to understand better the nuances and contradictions of the world's greatest sporting event."—Mike McNamee, editor of The Ethics of Sports: A Reader

From the Publisher