A review of the development of the philosophy of sport in the West

Abstract

It was the philosophy of play especially that of Johan Huizinga's Homo ludens, that paved the way for and influenced the development of sports philosophy (1938). However, sport is not just any kind of activity, and not every sporting event can be considered a sporting event. As a discipline, sport philosophy has the potential to improve individuals' critical thinking about sports and curb the widespread use of emotionally charged arguments. Building a strong internalist normative theory of sport has been an important goal for philosophers of the game. Such a theory should, at the very least, explain sport's non instrumental worth and offer direction on proper norms of conduct in sport as well as appropriate standards for the rules and practises of sport. Athletes' ideas have become deeply embedded in Western philosophical discourse. There is an undeniable link between ancient Greek ideas and the defining features of western athletics. While the ancient Greeks knew that humans and the natural world did not have an inherently antagonistic connection, they still believed that only by going to war with it could they ensure their survival. In this paper, we have examined the history, philosophies, and popular forms of sports in the West.