Skillful Striving is a multi-methodological and cross-cultural examination of how we flourish holistically through performative endeavors, e.g., sports, martial and performing arts. Relying primarily on sport philosophy, value theory, phenomenology, philosophy of mind, pragmatism, and East Asian philosophies (Japanese and Chinese), it espouses thick holism. Concerned with an integrative bodymind gradually achieved through performance that aims at excellence, the process of self-cultivation proper of thick holism relies on an ecologically rich epistemic landscape where skills are coupled to virtues in pragmatic contexts. Ultimately, this process results in admirable performances and exemplary character. Japanese dō (practices of self-cultivation) are prominent modes and models of such flourishing. A holistic and radically enactive approach that advances contentless capacities in lieu of representations transparently accounts for the kind of action that characterizes such expert performances. Importantly, these performer-centered endeavors unfold within communities that foster the cultivation of our abilities as lifelong quests for human excellence. Each chapter can be read independently but still forms part of a continuous argumentative and narrative thread. This book was previously published as a special issue of Sport, Ethics and Philosophy.

This comprehensive text examines the history, significance, and philosophical dimensions of sport. Introduction to the Philosophy of Sport, second edition, is organized to reflect the traditional division of philosophy into metaphysical, ethical, epistemological and political issues, while incorporating specific concerns of today’s athletic world, such as technology, violence, and professionalism. The second edition features expanded sections on social categories (including race, gender, and disability), sport in schools, and collegiate sports. Each chapter includes discussion questions, and the book features a comprehensive glossary.

The growth of neuroscience and the spread of general interest in the brain have prompted concern for ethical issues posed by neuroscientists. Despite the growing interest in the brain, neuroscience, and the profound issues that neuroscience raises, up to this point, relatively little attention has been given to, broadly speaking, neurophilosophical reflection on the brain in the context of sport. This book seeks to address this gap. Sport abounds with issues ripe for neurophilosophical treatment. Human movement, intentionality, cognition, cooperation, and vulnerability to injury directly and indirectly implicate the brain, and feature prominently in sport. This innovative volume comprises chapters by a team of international scholars who have written on a wide variety of topics at the intersection of sport, ethics, and neurophilosophy. Not only are the issues presented here of pressing philosophical and practical concerns, they also represent a new mode of fluid interaction between science and philosophy for the future of sports scholarship. This book was originally published as a special issue of the journal Sport, Ethics and Philosophy.

This book represents a bold statement concerning the excitement and energy of the field of sports ethics and philosophy in contemporary terms. It is comprised of a collection of commissioned essays from the leading international scholars in the field to celebrate the ten year editorship of Mike McNamee for the journal: Sport, Ethics and Philosophy. The collection includes essays familiar sport philosophers on work about the nature and nuances of sports and games playing, winning and losing, role models and strategic fouling. It also celebrates in phenomenological terms the complex and heterogeneous experience and values of sports in both phenomenological and analytic modes. Finally, it addresses the most serious threats to sport integrity and governance, in the shape of doping, and the unchecked power of sports institutions, and the charisma of sport that is at the mercy of commercialism. This book was originally published as a special issue of Sport, Ethics and Philosophy.

Nature sports such as skiing, climbing, and surfing have had a significant influence on Western popular culture since the mid-twentieth century and participation in such sports continues to grow. Written in a clear and accessible style, this important book provides a comprehensive philosophical analysis of nature sports. Philosophy and Nature Sports offers an engaging inquiry into how nature sports differ from mainstream sports, how these differences are related to their value as human activities, and the role of the environments in which such sports take place. Addressing the claim that the most distinctive feature of nature sports is the relationship between participants and the natural world, the book also examines a wide range of topics, such as ethics, risk, gender construction, the social role of nature sport subcultures and the aesthetic experiences of nature sports athletes. Tying these together is the question of what it is that attracts us to nature sports and why they hold meaning for us. This is a valuable resource for students and academics in fields such as alternative sports, alternative sport subcultures, sport philosophy, sport and social issues, ethics, and phenomenology. It is also a fascinating read for outdoor educators and practitioners.

The contributors to Somaesthetics and Sport explore our embodied experiences of watching and playing sport, including sport’s beauty; the place of exercise in our sense of living a good life; and how we cope with pain and suffering.

In this collection of essays, the four branches of radical cognitive science—embodied, embedded, enactive and ecological—will dialogue with performance, with particular focus on post-cognitivist approaches to understanding the embodied mind-in-society; de-emphasising the computational and representational metaphors; and embracing new conceptualisations grounded on the dynamic interactions of "brain, body and world". In our collection, radical cognitive science reaches out to areas of scholarship also explored in the fields of performance practice and training as we facilitate a new inter- and transdisciplinary discourse in which to jointly share and explore common reactions of embodied approaches to the lived mind. The essays originally published as a special issue in Connection Science.

This pragmatist interpretation of habits provides a unifying concept for 4E cognitive science, neuroscience, philosophy, and social theory.

In today’s media-driven world, it seems there is always a scandal in the news involving athletes. Whether it’s performance-enhancing drugs in cycling, domestic violence in football, or sexual assault in college athletics, new problems pop up as soon as old issues disappear. As we struggle to understand and, hopefully, correct these problems, we face the difficult reality that the lines between fact and fiction are often blurred by the media, and sports governing bodies can be slow to make the necessary changes in their respective fields. In Sport Philosophy Now: The Culture of Sports after the Lance Armstrong Scandal, Matthew James McNees scrutinizes the current sports philosophy available and updates it in the “post-Lance Armstrong” age. While many philosophers have turned a blind eye to the realities of sport by focusing on ideologically-driven abstract ideals, this book offers an engaging alternative. Examining the field primarily through the competitive world of cycling, McNees explores such issues as authenticity in sport, our tendency to create superficial high-minded meaning from the actions of athletes, and American capitalism in sports. Other issues discussed include childhood, play, language, and economics. This book critiques the field of sports philosophy from its beginning, offers a new paradigm for the field, explains journalistic mistakes specifically through the lens of the Lance Armstrong scandal, and sheds light on the mysteries of cycling’s milieu of governing bodies and influential parties. This book aims to inspire and support those who want to take up rigorous, worthwhile, and difficult questions in the field of sports philosophy. It will be of interest not only to scholars, but also to the cycling community and those who wish to learn more about the interactions between sports, culture, and philosophy.

Endurance Sport and the American Philosophical Tradition, edited by Douglas R. Hochstetler, analyzes the relationship between endurance sports—such as running, cycling, and swimming–and themes from the American philosophical tradition. The contributors enter into dialogue with writers such as Ralph Waldo Emerson, William James, Henry David Thoreau, and John Dewey, as well as more recent scholars such as John McDermott and bell hooks. Examining American philosophical themes informs issues in endurance sport, and the experiential nature of endurance sport helps address philosophical issues and explain philosophical themes in American philosophy. The chapters bear witness to the fact that philosophy is not limited to abstract notions such as justice, truth, happiness, and so forth, but intersects with and has a bearing on our human endeavors of work and play. Furthermore, the themes centrally related to the American philosophical tradition align closely with the challenges and experiences present and faced by runners, cyclists, swimmers, and endurance athletes in general.