The philosophy of sport emphasises the athlete’s humanity ****************************************************************************************** * The philosophy of sport emphasises the athlete’s humanity ****************************************************************************************** May 5, 2011, By: Marie Kohoutová; section: Interviews & Portraits, Translation: Pavla Horá The Charles University Faculty of Physical Education and Sport had the privilege to host t conference [ URL "http://www.iforum.cuni.cz/IFORUM-11024.html"] devoted to the philosophy Europe. The three-day event organised by the European Association for the Philosophy of Sp will be declared open on May 19 in the Karolinum Small Hall. The meeting of the 60 delegat countries will be held in the main building of the Faculty of Physical Education and Sport organisers of this important international gathering, PhDr. Irena Martínková, Ph.D. from t Kinanthropology, Humanities and Sport Management at the Charles University Faculty of Phys and Sport, told i-Forum about the significance and objectives of the conference. The main goals of EAPS include the development of the pPhDr. Irena Martínková, Ph.D., Depa and cooperation in this field within Europe. The first of Kinanthropology, Humanities and titled the Philosophy of Sport in Europe, organised in Management at the Charles Universit the Charles University Faculty of Physical Education anof Physical Education and Sport on these goals. As many more guests registered for the conference than had been expected following the previous BPSA conferences, we can expect the conference to contribute significantly to the EAPS efforts. As opposed to the sociological, social and technical aspects of sport, this conference is philosophical questions. Which are the most important ones? The thematic scope of the conference titled Philosophy of Sport in Europe is quite broad. important themes include various ethical questions related to sport (e.g. cheating, violen and various issues related to sport and physical education from the point of view of analy and phenomenology. These include questions such as: What is a human being; the problem of body; what are sports and games; and the issues of competition, gender, health, and techno Another area the conference guests will deal with is aesthetics in relation to sport, and to sport spectatorship, spirituality in sport, various themes to do with martial activitie movement etc. The philosophy of sport is meant for theoreticians but how about the athletes themselves? ideas, the interest, the inclination to think about philosophy during training or before a What is sport then? Fighting, philosophy, a health exercise, a pastime or an art? It depends on how we look at the philosophy of sport. During training and before a perform usually doesn’t think about philosophical theories. However, understanding themselves, the values in society, their team-mates and rivals may help the athletes understand better wha doing and improve their activity. As for the second question: the definition of sport is o the philosophers of sport deal with and return to repeatedly. The athletes need to answer what sport means to them. Until they are sure about it, they do not even know what they ar why. Therefore, one of the goals of the philosophy of sport which aims to educate the athl questions regarding different aspects of sport – what relation it has to competition, spir etc. What do the European history of sport, with its ideas expressed by the Olympic movement, a martial arts, involving philosophical and religious stands, have in common? How do they en The underlying idea of the Olympic movement in Europe has evolved from de Coubertain’s ide thing is not the triumph but the struggle” to the motto: “Citius, altius, fortius”, which days. In competitive sport the struggle for achievement, victory and consequently money ha As opposed to that, the traditional martial arts are more linked to codes of ethics; some practice the philosophical or religious ideas of the given system. A different goal calls route. For example, in Japanese martial arts which are closely linked to Zen Buddhism, the win makes no sense and this has an impact on the practice. In our circumstances the martia have different forms – but mostly we have turned the traditional martial arts into martial mainly about winning. The Philosophy of Sport in Europe conference is being held for the very first time. Apart of the presidium and the executive committee and a discussion on the philosophical issues will be the main activity of this organisation and what will it look like? Will you offer the Olympic movement, for example? At the moment, one of the basic goals of the European Association for the Philosophy of Sp the development of the philosophy of sport and cooperation in this area in Europe. The EAP going to discuss the possibilities of development on a European level and possible ways of of individual national societies in the process. The aim of EAPS is to promote the develop philosophical traditions in Europe as regards sport, the development of ethical thinking, other fields and the Olympic movement, and last but not least to provide support to doctor devote themselves to the philosophy of sport. Thank you for talking to i-Forum. More on the conference [ URL "http://iforum.cuni.cz/iforum-10872.html"]