Reddit reviews Introduction to the Philosophy of Sport (Elements of Philosophy)

It goes without saying, but then again I am saying it so....like most areas of study in philosophy, different philosophers have approached the intersection of philosophy and sport in different ways. Some have taken the classic route of exploring the ontology of sport, ethical issues pertaining to sport, etc. Others have used the example of sport (or situations that arise in sport) to explore and explain other philosophical problems.

My favorite example of the former approach is the book The Grasshopper: Games, Life, and Utopia by Bernard Suits. In it he discusses the nature and value of sport through Platonic dialogue (seriously how cool is that?!). Many believe Suits gets it wrong, but most scholars that I have encountered are generous enough to admit that it is a wonderful book and is a great starting point.

A recent example of that latter is Knowing the Score by David Papineau. From Amazon: [Papineau] uses sports to illuminate some of modern philosophy's most perplexing questions...The tactics of road bicycle racing shed new light on questions of altruism, while sporting family dynasties reorient the nature v. nurture debate. Why do sports competitors choke? Why do fans think God will favor their team over their rivals? How can it be moral to deceive the umpire by framing a pitch? From all of these questions, and many more, philosophy has a great deal to learn.

If you're looking for a classic anthology, I would highly recommend Philosophic Inquiry in Sport. I believe it is available via ILL and can be found used for around $10.

Other books that can be requested via ILL are Introduction to Philosophy of Sport, The Ethics of Sport: Essential Readings, and Routledge Handbook of the Philosophy of Sport. I will be honest though, ymmv with these last three, but I thought I would try to give a semi-thorough response.