Contributor Introduction -- Douglas Hochstetler

I am Associate Professor of Kinesiology at Penn State University, Lehigh Valley. My primary teaching assignments are Sport Philosophy and Ethics, as well as Sport History. Prior to coming to Penn State, I spent 7 years teaching Physical Education and coaching at the collegiate level, and 3 years teaching grades K-8 Physical Education & Health. My research areas of interest include sport ethics, meaning in physical activity, and the history of intercollegiate football.

Contributor Introduction- Mike Austin

I'm an associate professor of philosophy at Eastern Kentucky University in Richmond, Kentucky (U.S.A.). My interests in philosophy of sport focus on moral philosophy and sport and issues related to children and sport. I've also edited a book with Blackwell aimed at a more popular audience, Running and Philosophy: A Marathon for the Mind.

I'm looking forward to being a part of an international dialogue that includes scholars from a variety of disciplines, students, athletes, and anyone else who happens across this blog.

Introducing the Philosophy of Sport Blog

This multi-authored blog is intended to be an international forum for the discussion of issues related to the philosophical dimensions of sport, as well as a place to disseminate calls for papers, publication and conference announcements, and issues related to teaching in this area of philosophy.

There are many reasons to think that sport is a fitting and important topic for philosophic inquiry which will surface on this blog as the discussion progresses. For now, consider what William Morgan points out in his book Why Sports Morally Matter. Morgan argues that sports deserve to be taken seriously, in part because it is through arguing about sports that many people first learn to generalize, form arguments, and respond to counterarguments. Moreover, debates about economics, gender, race, patriotism, justice, and drugs arise in the context of philosophical discussions of sport, and we can often glean new insights into these issues as they are discussed within this particular context.

I would add that as we think seriously about the philosophy of sport, we end up having to think seriously about metaphysics, epistemology, and ethics. To my knowledge, no blog exists for the purpose of discussing philosophy of sport, and my hope is that this blog will be a forum for such discussion among philosophers, students, athletes, and anyone else who is simply interested in these issues.

Coming Soon...

A blog with multiple contributors, all working on issues in the philosophy of sport.