Routledge Handbook of the Philosophy of Sport: (Routledge International Handbooks)

This lively, introductory text provides students and health practitioners with the foundations of a sociological understanding of health issues. Written for anyone who is interested in health and disease in contemporary global society, this book engages the reader to act upon their occupational and moral responsibilities. It explains the key sociological theories and debates with humour and imagination in a way that will encourage an inquisitive and reflective approach on the part of any student who engages with the text. With individual chapters covering sociology, health, science, power, medicalisation, madness happiness, sex, violence and death, Sociology and Health is organized so that the student moves through sociological approaches and themes which constantly recur in the experience of healthcare. Students will find this a readable and controversial text which covers the ground they need to know in a thought-provoking way. Lecturers will find it a helpful text for generating discussion in tutorials and seminars. There are summaries at the end of each chapter, suggestions for further reading and ideas for the reader.

Table of Contents:
A historical introduction to the Philosophy of Sport Part I: Philosophical Approaches to the Conceptualisation of Sport 1. Formalism and Sport 2. Internalism and Sport 3. Conventionalism and Sport 4. An Institutional theory of sport Part II: Philosophical Theories and Sport 5. Asthetics of Sport 6. Bioethics and Sport 7. Eastern Philosophy 8. Epistemology and Sport 9. Ethics 10. Existential Philosophy and Sport 11. Feminism in the Philosophy of Sport 12. Phenomenology and Sport 13. Philosophy of Mind and Sport 14. Pragmatism and the Philosophy of Sport 15. The radical critique of Sport 16. Religion, Theology and Sport 17. Sport as a legal system 18. Metaphysics and Sport Part III: Key Issues and Themes in the Philosophy of Sport 19. Competition 20. Disability and Paralympic Sport 21. Doping and Anti-Doping: An inquiry into the Meaning of Sport 22. Fair Play 23. Genetics, science fiction and the ethics of athletic enhancement 24. Olympism – A Philosophy of Sport? 25. Philosophical Approaches to Coaching 26. Spectatorship – watching and following Sport 27. Sport, Commerce and the Market 28. Technology and Sport

About the Author :
Mike McNamee is Professor of Ethics at KU Leuven, Belgium, and Professor of Applied Ethics at Swansea University, UK. His research interests and teaching span a broad range from the philosophy and ethics of engineering to medicine and health care, the ethics of sports and research ethics. He is a former President of the International Association for the Philosophy of Sport and was the founding Chair of the British Philosophy of Sport Association. He serves or has served on the executive committees of many national and international associations, including the European College of Sport Science, the International Council for Sport Science and Physical Education, and the Philosophy of Education Society of Great Britain. He is the founding Editor of the journal Sport, Ethics and Philosophy, has written or edited 16 books in applied philosophy and ethics in sport and health, and is a founding co-editor of the landmark book series Ethics and Sport (Routledge). William J. Morgan is a Professor in the Division of Occupational Science and School of Communication, University of Southern California, USA. His major research interests are in ethics, critical theory and political theory, and most of his work has been devoted to the study of popular culture, especially contemporary sports and the Olympic Games. He is the author or editor of five books on sport, including Why Sports Morally Matter, the runner-up for the Best Book Award from the North American Society for the Sociology of Sport in 2006. He has been the recipient of the Distinguished Scholar Award from the International Association of the Philosophy of Sport and elected as a Fellow to the American Academy of Kinesiology, and he serves on the editorial boards of the Journal of the Philosophy of Sport and Sport, Ethics and Philosophy.

Review :
'Be prepared for a robust account of ways in which society causes sickness, misery, and death in reading Peter Morrall's book Sociology and Health. He not only outlines how society makes people unhealthy, but encourages the reader (with examples) to take what he calls 'moral action' to make social conditions healthier - and then e-mail him about it. This is clearly a different kind of textbook. It draws the reader into the field of health sociology and encourages the person to take positive action to help produce a healthier society.' William C. Cockerham, University of Alabama at Birmingham , USA