Values in Sport

How will sport keep pace with current scientific and biological advances? Is the possibility of the 'bionic athlete' that far away and is this notion as bad as it might first appear? Is our fascination with sport winners fascistoid? Questions such as these and many others are posed and examined by the contributors to this volume. Some are sceptical of future developments in sport and demand radical reforms to halt progress, others are more optimistic and propose that sport should adapt to new advances just as other realms of the cultural sphere have to. Some of the topics examined here, such as the genetic engineering of athletes, and the significance of the public's fascination with sport winners, are being discussed for the first time, whilst others such as sex segregation, nationalism and doping are being revisited and reintroduced onto the agenda after a period of suggestive silence. This book provides the reader with a deep insight into the moral and ethical value we place on sport in today's society. Challenging and demanding, its contributors urge us to think again about current sports practices and the future of sport as a cultural phenomenon.

Claudio Tamburrini is a Senior Researcher at the Department of Philosophy, Stockholm University and the author of several international articles on issues of penal philosophy and sport philosophy. Torbjörn Tännsjö is Professor of Practical Philosophy at Stockholm University and has published extensively on moral philosophy, political philosophy and medical ethics.

Part I. Elitism 1. Is Our Admiration or Sports Heroes Fascistoid? Torbjorn Tannsjo 2. Sports, Fascism and the Market Claudio Tamburrini 3. The Logic of Progress and the Art of Moderation in Competitive Sports Sigmund LolandPart II. Nationalism 4. Sports as the Moral Discourse of Nations William J. Morgan 5. A Justification of Moderate Patriotism in Sport Nicholas Dixon 6. Patriotism in Sports and in War Paul GombergPart III. Gender Equality 7. Against Sexual Discrimination in Sports Torbjörn Tännsjö 8. Gender Verification in Competitive Sport: Turning from Research to Action Berit Skirstad 9. On the Definition of 'Woman' in the Sport Context - with an Appendix on Tännsjö's Radical Proposal Angela J. SchneiderPart IV. The Rules of the Game 10. Against Chance: A Casual Theory of Winning in Sports Gunnar Breivik 11. Justice and Game Advantage in Sporting Games Sigmund Loland 12. Spoiling: An Indirect Reflection of Sport's Moral Imperative Graham McFeePart V. The Scientific Manufacturing of Winners 13. A Philosophical Overview of the Arguments on Banning Doping in Sport Angela J. Schneider and Robert B. Butcher 14. What is Wrong With Doping? Claudio Tamburrini 15. Selected Champions Christian Munthe