Robert L. Simon - Fair Play: The Ethics of Sport

Fair P lay

The Ethics of Sport

Fourth Edition

Robert L. Simon

Hamilton College

Cesar R. Torres

The College at Brockport, State University of New York

Peter F. Hager

The College at Brockport, State University of New York

A Member of the Perseus Books Group

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Simon, Robert L., 1941

Fair play : the ethics of sport / Robert L. Simon, Cesar R. Torres, Peter F. Hager. Fourth edition.

pages cm

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 978-0-8133-4921-3 (e-book) 1. SportsMoral and ethical aspects. 2. SportsSocial aspects. I. Title.

GV706.3.S56 2014

796.01dc23

2014003077

To our families, with thanks for their patience and support

Contents

Preface

S port plays a significant role in the lives of millions of people throughout the world. Many men and women participate actively in sports, and still more are spectators, fans, and critics of sport. Even those who are uninvolved in sports, bored by them, or critical of athletic competition often will be significantly affected by them, either because of their relationships with enthusiasts or, more importantly, because of the impact of sport on our language, thought, and culture.

Because sports are a significant form of social activity that affects the educational system, the economy, and, perhaps, the values of citizens, they raise a wide range of issues, some of which are factual or empirical in character. Social scientists, historians, physicians, and writers have raised many such issues that concern sport. For example, sociologists may be concerned with whether participation in sports affects the participants values, and psychologists might try to determine what personality features contribute to success or failure in competitive athletics.

In addition to factual and explanatory questions, sports also raise philosophical issues that are conceptual and ethical in nature. Conceptual questions concern how we are to understand the concepts and ideas that apply in the world of sports. What are sports, anyway? How are sports related to rules? Do those who intentionally break the rules of a game even play it, or are they doing something else? Are there different forms of competition in sports? Is it possible to compete against oneself?

Ethical questions raise the moral concerns many of us have about sports. Should sports be accorded the importance our society gives them? Is there too much emphasis on winning and competition? Are college sports getting out of hand? Why shouldnt we cheat in a game if it will bring us a championship? What, if anything, makes the use of steroids to enhance performance in sports unethical? How should men and women be treated in sports if they are to be treated equitably and fairly? Should we be aiming more for excellence in competition among highly skilled athletes, or should we place greater value on more participation? Does the commercialization of sports actually corrupt the game? Fair Play examines such questions and evaluates the principles to which thoughtful people might appeal in trying to formulate answers.

Not only are questions in the philosophy of sport important in their own right, but they can also serve as a useful introduction to broader philosophical issues. Most students come to philosophy courses with knowledge of sports, and many have a deep interest in ethical issues raised by sports. This initial interest can serve as a launching pad to introduce students to the nature and value of philosophical inquiry. For example, questions about whether the use of steroids to enhance athletic performance is fair can lead to broad inquiry into the nature of fairness and the just society.

Perhaps most importantly, issues in the philosophy of sport are of great intrinsic interest and are well worth our attention. Philosophical questions force us to stretch our analytical powers to the fullest and question basic presuppositions. Those that arise in the philosophical examination of sports, like any others, require us to test and evaluate fundamental justificatory principles and engage in rigorous critical inquiry.

Readers of earlier editions of this book will find significant changes in the current edition. Most significantly, this is the first edition of Fair Play to be a collaborative project. Robert L. Simon, the author of the earlier editions, introduces his coauthors as follows.

I am extremely happy to have two stellar scholars in the philosophy of sport join me in this project. Cesar R. Torres and Peter F. Hager have written cogently on a great variety of topics bearing on the ethics of sport, ranging from moral issues in youth sports to developing the theories of broad internalism and the quest for excellence that ground much of this books argument. They bring new perspectives to our discussion and improve the quality of the work immensely. I am proud to have worked with them on this project and am sure our readers will likewise welcome their contributions.

This new edition, although preserving the major approaches and lines of argument of earlier ones, contains significant changes as well. Perhaps what is most essential to this new text is that we have moved the theoretical framework on which we rely, broad internalism and mutualism in competitive athletics, earlier in the text to Chapter 2 so we can more easily apply it in later chapters to concrete issues that arise in sports. We also make clearer the relationship between broad internalism as an approach to justifying ethical claims in sports and mutualism as a theory of competition justifiable on broad internalist grounds. Broad internalism itself is expanded to include aesthetic as well as ethical criteria for evaluation applicable to sports.

Readers of earlier editions will find new examples of ethical disputes in sport, such as Spygate, the New England Patriots hacking into the electronic communications on strategy among opposing coaches during the 2007 NFL season, among others. We also preserved key examples discussed in earlier editions whenever doing so advanced our discussion. Among the most significant additions to our philosophical discussions are an examination of William J. Morgans recent defense of deep conventionalism as well as discussions of ethical issues that arise in youth sports and of ethical issues relevant to the behavior of sports fans. Another significant change is the inclusion of study questions at the end of each chapter.