Philosophy, Risk and Adventure Sports


Book Description

This book is a collection of papers examining philosophical perspectives of adventure sports and related concepts of risk, danger, death, elation, authenticity and wilderness, written by well-known academics with personal experience of these fascinating sports.




Philosophy, Risk and Adventure Sports


Book Description

With interest and participation in extreme and adventure sports growing year on year, the time is ripe for a thoughtful and analytical assessment of this phenomenon from a rigorous philosophical perspective. This collection of essays is the first single-source treatment of adventure sports from an exclusively philosophical standpoint. The text offers students a uniquely focused reader of this burgeoning area of interest and provides scholars with a source book for further studies in this area. Featuring contributions from well-respected writers in the field who each also have personal familiarity of participation in adventure and extreme sports, this is set to become a classic analysis of the intersections between philosophy and extreme experiences, encompassing essential related concepts of elation, danger, death, wilderness and authenticity.




Understanding Extreme Sports: A Psychological Perspective


Book Description

Extreme sports, those activities that lie on the outermost edges of independent adventurous leisure activities, where a mismanaged mistake or accident would most likely result in death, have developed into a significant worldwide phenomenon (Brymer & Schweitzer, 2017a). Extreme sport activities are continually evolving, typical examples include BASE (an acronym for Buildings, Antennae, Span, Earth) jumping and related activities such as proximity flying, extreme skiing, big wave surfing, waterfall kayaking, rope free solo climbing and high-level mountaineering. While participant numbers in many traditional team and individual sports such as golf, basketball and racket sports have declined over the last decade or so, participant numbers in so called extreme sports have surged. Although extreme sports are still assumed to be a Western pastime, there has been considerable Global uptake. Equally, the idea that adventure sports are only for the young is also changing as participation rates across the generations are growing. For example, baby boomers are enthusiastic participants of adventure sports more generally (Brymer & Schweitzer, 2017b; Patterson, 2002) and Generation Z turn to extreme sports because they are popular and linked to escapism (Giannoulakis & Pursglove, 2017). Arguably, extreme sports now support a multi-billion dollar industry and the momentum seems to be intensifying. Traditional explanations for why extreme sports have become so popular are varied. For some, the popularity is explained as the desire to rebel against a society that is becoming too risk averse, for others it is about the spectacle and the merchandise that is associated with organised activities and athletes. For others it is just that there are a lot of people attracted by risk and danger or just want to show off. For others still it is about the desire to belong to sub-cultures and the glamour that goes with extreme sports. Some seek mastery in their chosen activity and in situations of significant challenges. This confusion is unfortunate as despite their popularity there is still a negative perception about extreme sports participation. There is a pressing need for clarity. The dominant research perspective has focused on positivist theory-driven perspectives that attempt to match extreme sports against predetermined characteristics. For the most part empirical research has conformed to predetermined societal perspectives. Other ways of knowing might reveal more nuanced perspectives of the human dimension of extreme sport participation. This special edition brings together cutting-edge research and thought examining psychology and extreme sports, with particular attention payed to the examination of motivations for initial participation, continued participation, effective performance, and outcomes from participation. References Brymer, E. & Schweitzer, R. (2017a) Phenomenology and the extreme sports experience, NY, Routledge. Brymer, E, & Schweitzer, R, D. (2017b) Evoking the Ineffable: The phenomenology of extreme sports, Psychology of Consciousness: Theory, Research, and Practice 4(1):63-74 Giannoulakis, C., & Pursglove, L., K., (2017) Evolution of the Action Sport Setting. In S.E. Klein Ed. Defining Sport: Conceptions and Borderlines. Lexington Books, London. 128-146 Patterson, I. (2002) Baby Boomers and Adventure Tourism: The Importance of Marketing the Leisure Experience, World Leisure Journal, 44:2, 4-10, DOI: 10.1080/04419057.2002.9674265




Sport, Ethics, and Neurophilosophy


Book Description

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.




Philosophy and Nature Sports


Book Description

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.




Phenomenological Approaches to Sport


Book Description

The study of sport is often thought of simply in terms of the sport sciences. This book explains how a phenomenological approach is capable of revealing the nature and meanings of sport in ways that are beyond the reach of the sciences and how the very concepts required by sport science stand in need of philosophical explanation. The book has a 'didactic' intention, seeking to present and discuss ideas and tools developed in the phenomenological tradition in order to illuminate issues in sport, in such a way as to be understandable for those without any previous knowledge or background. There are clear and straightforward accounts of the ideas of central thinkers, such as Husserl, Heidegger, Merleau-Ponty and Patočka, and applications of central ideas to the analysis of particular issues, such as the nature of risk sports, the feint in football, the problem of the instant replay, the role of the sport psychologist, the idea of 'bodily perception', and the concept of 'transhumanism' in relation to performance enhancement. This book was originally published as a special issue of Sport, Ethics and Philosophy.




Philosophy of Sport


Book Description

An accessible and comprehensive guide to the philosophy of sport Each chapter is framed by a question that explores the main issues, ideas and literature in the field ranging from questions about the nature and value of sport, the sporting body, aesthetics and ethics. Students are given the opportunity to consider significant debates in the philosophy of sport and each chapter is supplemented by independent study questions. Each section also contains short insightful interviews with eminent scholars in order to give a broader understanding of the history and development of the subject. The main themes covered within this text include: the nature of sport; sport and the body; aesthetics and the aesthetic value of sport; a consideration of fair play, rules and the ethos of sport; the nature of competition; the application and effect of technology on sport and introductions to contemporary ethical issues such as doping, violence, disability, patriotism, elitism and sexual equality, as well as a broader reflection on the connection between sport and moral development.




Routledge Companion to Sports History


Book Description

Presents comprehensive guidance to the international field of sports history as it has developed as an academic area of study. This book guides readers through the development of the field across a range of thematic and geographical contexts. It is suitable for researchers and students in, and entering, the sports history field.




Bioethics, Genetics and Sport


Book Description

Advances in genetics and related biotechnologies are having a profound effect on sport, raising important ethical questions about the limits and possibilities of the human body. Drawing on real case studies and grounded in rigorous scientific evidence, this book offers an ethical critique of current practices and explores the intersection of genetics, ethics and sport. Written by two of the world's leading authorities on the ethics of biotechnology in sport, the book addresses the philosophical implications of the latest scientific developments and technological data. Distinguishing fact from popular myth and science fiction, it covers key topics such as the genetic basis of sport performance and the role of genetic testing in talent identification and development. Its ten chapters discuss current debates surrounding issues such as the shifting relationship between genetics, sports medicine and sports science, gene enhancement, gene transfer technology, doping and disability sport. The first book to be published on this important subject in more than a decade, this is fascinating reading for anyone with an interest in the ethics of sport, bioethics or sport performance.




The American Adrenaline Narrative


Book Description

The American Adrenaline Narrative considers the nature of perilous outdoor adventure tales, their gendered biases, and how they simultaneously promote and hinder ecological sustainability. To explore these themes, Kristin J. Jacobson defines and compares adrenaline narratives by a range of American authors published after the first Earth Day in 1970, a time frame selected as a watershed moment for the contemporary American environmental movement. The forty-plus years since that day also mark the rise in the popularity and marketing of many things as “extreme,” including sports, jobs, travel, beverages, gum, makeovers, laundry detergent, and even the environmental movement itself. Jacobson maps the American eco-imagination via adrenaline narratives, grounding them in the traditional literary practice of close reading analysis and in ecofeminism. She surveys a range of popular and lesser-known primary texts by American authors, including best-selling books, such as Jon Krakauer’s Into Thin Air and Aron Ralston’s Between a Rock and a Hard Place, and lesser-known texts, such as Patricia C. McCairen’s Canyon Solitude, Eddy L. Harris’s Mississippi Solo, and Stacy Allison’s Beyond the Limits. She also discusses such narratives as they appear in print and online articles and magazines, feature-length and short films, television shows, amateur videos, social networking site posts, fiction, advertising, and blogs. Jacobson contends that these stories constitute a distinctive genre because—unlike traditional nature, travel, and sports writing— adrenaline narratives sustain heightened risk or the element of the “extreme” within a natural setting. Additionally, these narratives provide important insight into the American environmental imagination’s connection to masculinity and adventure—knowledge that helps us grasp the current climate crisis and how narrative understanding provides a needed intervention.