This paper is a case study of what Jon Elster calls "local justice"; particular schemes of justice which, on a relatively autonomous basis, are designed and implemented by institutions and practices to meet particular preferences and goals. The paper suggests an interpretation of the role of justice in sporting games. First, a framework for examinations of schemes of local justice is suggested. Second, norms are suggested that express the requirements that have to be met in order to consider a sporting (...) game as just. The discussion shows that sports are characterized by a particular blend of meritocratic justice in which goods and burdens are distributed according to performance, and a non-meritocratic distribution through which goods and burdens arise as matters of chance. The essay concludes by arguing that the optimal blend of meritocratic justice and chance results in the realization of not merely fair sporting games, but of exciting and good games as well. (shrink)

In a provocative analysis of sport ethics and human values, Genetically Modified Athletes imagines the brave new world of sport. The internationally acclaimed book examines this issue at a crucial time in its theorisation, questioning the very cornerstone of sporting and medical ethics, asking whether sporting authorities can, or even should, protect sport from genetic modification. This book brings together sport studies and bioethics to challenge our understanding of the values that define sport. We already allow that athletes can optimise (...) their performance by the use of technologies; without wishing to assert that 'anything goes' in sports performance enhancement, Andy Miah argues that simply being human matters in sport and that genetic modification does not have to challenge this capacity. Genetically Modifies Athletes includes examination of: * the concept of 'good sport' and the definition of cheating * the doped athlete - should we be more sympathetic? * the role of the medical industry * the usefulness of the terms 'doping' and 'anti-doping'. An important and growing field of interest, this book should be read by students, academics and practitioners. (shrink)

Though the revised edition of A Theory of Justice, published in 1999, is the definitive statement of Rawls's view, so much of the extensive literature on Rawls's theory refers to the first edition. This reissue makes the first edition once again available for scholars and serious students of Rawls's work.

Written in an outstandingly clear and lively style, this 1969 book provokes its readers to rethink issues they may have regarded as long since settled.

The degradation of modern sport--its commercialization, trivialization, widespread cheating, cult of athletic stars and celebrities, and manipulation by the media--has led to calls for its transformation. William J. Morgan constructs a critical theory of sport that shores up the weak arguments of past attempts and points a way forward to making sport more humane, compelling, and substantive. Drawing on the work of social theorists, Morgan challenges scholars and fans alike to explore new spaces in sport culture and imagine the rich (...) cultural and political possibilities to be found in the pastimes we follow with such passion. (shrink)

An esteemed American philosopher reflects on the nature of luck and its historical role in war, business, lotteries, and romance, and delineates the differences ...

This Great Symbol is the definitive study of the origins of the modern Olympic Games and of their founder, Pierre de Coubertin, whose ideological stamp the Olympics still bear. Behind this fascinating blend of biography and history lies an impressive framework of cultural, social, and psychological theories skilfully employed to interpret the creation and symbolism of the modern Olympic Games. Hailed as both a classic in sport history and as a paradigmatic study in the anthropology of the past, This Great (...) Symbol helped launch the new collaboration between historians and cultural anthropologists that continues to mark the human sciences worldwide. For this 25th anniversary edition, Professor MacAloon adds a new preface evaluating subsequent scholarship on Coubertin and the Olympic origins and a highly personal afterword describing the impact of This Great Symbol on his own subsequent career as an Olympic anthropologist and cultural performance theory. This book was published as a special issue of the International Journal of the History of Sport. (shrink)

For elite athletes seeking a winning advantage, manipulation of their own genetic code has become a realistic possibility. In Genetic Technology and Sport, experts from sports science, genetics, philosophy, ethics, and international sports administration describe the potential applications of the new technology and debate the questions surrounding its use.