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External Marginalization of Sport Philosophy The Pennsylvania State University The Graduate School College of Health and Human Development OVERCOMING MARGINALIZATION AND INSIGNIFICANCE: A PRAGMATIC CRITIQUE AND RECONSTRUCTION OF SPORT PHILOSOPHY A Thesis in Kinesiology by Timothy Laird Elcombe © 2005 Timothy L. Elcombe Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy August 2005 The thesis of Timothy L. Elcombe was reviewed and approved* by the following: R. Scott Kretchmar Professor of Exercise and Sport Science Thesis Advisor Chair of Committee Mark S. Dyreson Associate Professor of Kinesiology Douglas R. Hochstetler Assistant Professor of Kinesiology Douglas R. Anderson Associate Professor of Philosophy Vincent M. Colapietro Professor of Philosophy William J. Morgan Professor of Sport and Exercise Humanities/Cultural Studies The Ohio State University Special Member Philip E. Martin Professor of Kinesiology Head of the Department of Kinesiology *Signatures are on file in the Graduate School. iii ABSTRACT In the current cultural climate, philosophy is perceived by many as an irrelevant professional enterprise. Similarly, higher education’s twenty-first century economic mindset marginalizes the value of humanistic disciplines such as philosophy. Sport philosophers must deal with both of these social realities, as well as the fact that kinesiology departments increasingly devalue the study of sport. Sport philosophers are not merely victims, however. The field’s practitioners are also complicit in sport philosophy’s current marginalized and irrelevant status by employing limited critical methods, using impoverished tools for inquiry, and adopting misguided philosophical purposes. This project seeks to overcome the academic marginalization and lack of public voice that now plagues the field of sport philosophy. This will be accomplished by first using the work of John Dewey to engage in a pragmatic critique and reconstruction of the field of sport philosophy. In particular, I will critique the conceptions of metaphysics, the theories of experience, and the notions of truth and meaning adopted by the field’s dominant paradigms—metaphysical constructionism and metaphysical deconstructionism. Following this critique, I will pragmatically reconstruct sport philosophy by re-conceptualizing lived experience, truth and meaning, as well as philosophy more generally. In the end, I will implore sport philosophers to make four commitments that could enhance the field’s academic standing and social relevance. First, sport philosophy must become radically empirical. Second, sport philosophy must employ a grounded notion of abstract thought. Third, sport philosophers must aim to improve sport. Finally, sport philosophers must function as a community of inquirers—as philosophers and with other sport theorists more generally. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ............................................................................................... vi CHAPTER 1...................................................................................................................... 1 Marginalized and Culturally Insignificant: Sport Philosophy in the 21st Century External Marginalization of Sport Philosophy ................................................................... 8 Philosophy in the Twenty-First Century........................................................................... 19 The Current Dominant Typologies in Sport Philosophy .................................................. 21 Reorganizing the Dominant Paradigms in Sport Philosophy ........................................... 27 CHAPTER 2.................................................................................................................... 31 The Limits of Sport Philosophy: A Pragmatic Critique of the Field's Critical Methods Sport Philosophy, Criticism, and Philosophical Errors .................................................... 32 Critique #1: Conceptions of Metaphysics Lacking Critical Force.................................... 36 Constructionists’ Analytic Conceptions of Metaphysics.......................................... 37 Evaluating Analytic Metaphysicians’ Critical Methods........................................... 41 Deconstructionists’ Rejection of Metaphysics.......................................................... 53 Evaluating Antimetaphysicians’ Critical Methods ................................................... 56 Conclusion ........................................................................................................................ 64 CHAPTER 3.................................................................................................................... 68 Sources of Sport Philosophy's Critical Limitations: Non-Pragmatic Conceptions of Experience and Truth Critique #2: Appeals to Incomplete Theories of Experience............................................ 70 Analytic Metaphysicians’ Mechanical Theory of Experience.................................. 71 Antimetaphysicians’ Capricious Theory of Experience ........................................... 78 Summary................................................................................................................... 83 Critique #3: Battle Over “Truth” Rather than Meaning.................................................... 85 Analytic Metaphysicians: Misguided Search for Sporting Truth ............................. 86 Antimetaphysicians: Rash Absolute Dismissals of Sporting Truth.......................... 94 Summary................................................................................................................... 98 Conclusion: Some Consequences of Sport Philosophy .................................................. 100 Consequence #1: A Fragmented and Impotent Sport Philosophy Community ...... 101 Consequence #2: Practice-Theory Dualisms = Lack of “Cash Value”................... 103 v CHAPTER 4.................................................................................................................. 107 Re-Envisioning the Backdrop of Sport Philosophy: Pragmatism, Experience, Meaning, and Sport Reconstructing the Purpose of Sport Philosophy: Seeking Meaning and Wisdom........ 109 Pragmatically Re-conceptualizing Experience: Three Pervasive Qualities.................... 113 A) Sport Experience is Transactional (Natural)...................................................... 114 B) Sport Experience is Habitual (Cultural)............................................................. 118 C) Sport Experience is Aesthetic (Meaningful)...................................................... 125 Conclusion: Radical Empiricism and Pragmatic Sport Philosophy................................ 135 CHAPTER 5.................................................................................................................. 140 Making a Difference: Reconstructing Sport Philosophy's Pragmatic Tasks Practically “Grounding” Sport Philosophy’s Abstractness............................................. 141 Sport Philosophy Aiming to Improve Sport ................................................................... 148 Cultivating a Genuine Community of Sport Inquirers.................................................... 161 Pragmatic Sport Philosophers’ Task: Two Intelligent Projects ...................................... 165 1. Critical Disclosure/Clarification of the Habits of the Sport-World.................... 166 2. Creative Transformation of the Sport-World...................................................... 171 Conclusion: The Pragmatic Community of Sport Philosophers..................................... 175 BIBLIOGRAPHY......................................................................................................... 179 ENDNOTES................................................................................................................... 186 vi ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This thesis is the culmination of a fascinating journey that began four years ago. Over these past few years, I have been incredibly fortunate to meet and work with some tremendous people who have made this a challenging, enjoyable, and worthwhile ride. I have to begin by thanking the graduate students at Penn State with whom I have shared this experience. Jim Nendel and Peter Hopsicker in particular have made State College feel like a home while we were going through the ups and downs of graduate school together. Dori Sunday in the Kinesiology office has treated all of us graduate students like family members while taking care of us. I cannot thank her enough. I have also had the fortune to find acceptance amongst the Penn State sport philosophy alumni. Alun Hardman, Doug Hochstetler, Doug McLaughlin, Cesar Torres, and especially Rich Lally, have all provided sound advice, helped me make difficult transitions, and have become friends. Very quickly one realizes that studying under Dr. Kretchmar means you become part of a family that extends beyond your time and place at Penn State. I am indebted to the members of my dissertation committee. Bill Morgan at Ohio State University is one of the finest scholars in the world studying sport and culture, while at the same time is also one of the most giving and supportive people you could ever meet. Vincent Colapietro’s kindness, patience, and professional insights helped me make it through the first years as a rookie in the world of philosophy. Doug Hochstetler, in addition to his support as a fellow “Kretchmarite,” also served as an invaluable member of my
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