The Olympics and Philosophy

by Reid, Heather L.; Austin, Michael W.

• ISBN13: 9780813136486
• ISBN10: 0813136482
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2012-06-21
• Publisher: Univ Pr of Kentucky

Summary

It is said the champions of the ancient Olympic Games received a crown of olive leaves, symbolizing a divine blessing from Nike, the winged goddess of victory. While the mythology of the ancient games has come to exemplify the highest political, religious, community, and individual ideals of the time, the modern Olympic Games, by comparison, are widely known as an international, bi-annual sporting event where champions have the potential to earn not only glory for their country, but lucrative endorsement deals and the perks of worldwide fame. The Olympics and Philosophy examines the Olympic Movement from a variety of theoretical perspectives to uncover the connection between athleticism and philosophy for a deeper appreciation of the Olympic Pillars of Sport, Environment, and Culture. While today's Olympic champions are neither blessed by the gods nor rewarded with wreaths of olive, the original spirit and ancient ideals of the Olympic Movement endure in its modern embodiment. Editors Heather L. Reid and Michael W. Austin have assembled a team of international scholars to explore topics such as the concept of excellence, ethics, doping, gender, and race. Interweaving ancient and modern Olympic traditions, The Olympics and Philosophy considers the philosophical implications of the Games' intersection with historical events and modern controversy in a unique analysis of tradition and the future of the Olympiad.

Table of Contents

Introduction	p. 1
The Ideal Olympian
A Greatness of Olympic Proportions	p. 9
Machiavelli, the Olympic Ideal, and the Southern Arrow	p. 23
What's More than Gold	p. 35
Ancient Heritage
The Olympics of the Mind: Philosophy and Athletics in the Ancient Greek World	p. 49
Go Tell the Spartans: Honor, Courage, and Excellence in the Ancient Olympic Games	p. 68
The Soul of an Olympian: Olympism and the Ancient Philosophical Ideal of Arete	p. 86
Modern Ideals
More than Games: Olympism as a Moral Approach to Sport	p. 101
Olympism between Individualism and Transnationalism	p. 117
Citius, Altius, Fortius, Virtuous	p. 133
Ethical Issues
The Olympics and Steroids	p. 149
Olympic Boxing: A Not So Sweet Science	p. 161
Should the Olympics Be the Very Best? A Plea on Behalf of the Second-Rate	p. 175
Race and Gender Issues
The Strong Men Keep a Comin' On: African American Sports Participation and the Discourse of Public Dissent	p. 193
Olympic Amazons and the Cold War: The Rise and Fall of Gender Radicalism	p. 214
Buns of Gold, Silver, Bronze: The State of Olympic Women's Beach Volleyball	p. 228
Political Power
The Ethics of Boycotting the Olympics	p. 245
Sport, Patriotism, and the Olympic Games	p. 256
Sharing the Moment: On the Olympic Games as Spectacle	p. 273
List of Contributors	p. 287
Index	p. 293
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