Phenomenological Approaches to Sport

The study of sport is often thought of simply in terms of the sport sciences. This book explains how a phenomenological approach is capable of revealing the nature and meanings of sport in ways that are beyond the reach of the sciences and how the very concepts required by sport science stand in need of philosophical explanation. The book has a didactic intention, seeking to present and discuss ideas and tools developed in the phenomenological tradition in order to illuminate issues in sport, in such a way as to be understandable for those without any previous knowledge or background.

There are clear and straightforward accounts of the ideas of central thinkers, such as Husserl, Heidegger, Merleau-Ponty and Patočka, and applications of central ideas to the analysis of particular issues, such as the nature of risk sports, the feint in football, the problem of the instant replay, the role of the sport psychologist, the idea of bodily perception, and the concept of transhumanism in relation to performance enhancement.

This book was originally published as a special issue of Sport, Ethics and Philosophy.