tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36538074.post1748958232394317945..comments2023-05-07T14:10:45.257+01:00Comments on Religion, Philosophy & Ethics at the University of Gloucestershire: Cheating and Sport?David W...http://www.blogger.com/profile/14620079005028926064noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36538074.post-85160014044743648252009-12-04T04:13:59.992+00:002009-12-04T04:13:59.992+00:00Isn't it strange that athletes caught taking p...Isn't it strange that athletes caught taking performance-enhancing drugs are accused of cheating, whereas those who obviously pray to their gods for high performance are not (e.g. crossing themselves before a race starts). What's the difference? Is it just that the second form of cheating is known to be futile?Aaron Slomanhttp://www.cs.bham.ac.uk/~axsnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36538074.post-18295093019299855072009-12-03T15:18:48.240+00:002009-12-03T15:18:48.240+00:00Well i will try not to go into a rant about how Th...Well i will try not to go into a rant about how Thierry Henry is a cheat! But it is clear that cheating in sport is becoming more and more of an issue and as said below if people get away with it they will carry on!<br /><br />Is guilt the feeling of moral wrong doing? Im a guilty person so maybe thats just me!Patrick Bnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36538074.post-32036675571792831242009-12-03T15:16:14.166+00:002009-12-03T15:16:14.166+00:00I recently was a third reader on an MA thesis in k...I recently was a third reader on an MA thesis in kinesiology about ethics and sport. Apparently team sports (and to a lesser degree individual sports) undermine a person's moral sensibilities -- contrary to received wisdom that sport build moral sensibilities. There is a good body of data showing this.<br />The specualation is that team members build a gang mentality, but the cultural problem in/of sport is clearly wider than that.Catherine Hundlebyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09488479184320457761noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36538074.post-1394737964057599062009-12-03T12:21:05.962+00:002009-12-03T12:21:05.962+00:00I think that by using Bernard Suits' account o...I think that by using Bernard Suits' account of what it is to play a game (roughly to play a game is to attempt to achieve a certain state of affairs using only means permitted by the rules where the rules prohibit more efficient in favor of less efficient means and where adopting the rules is what makes the game possible--for a fuller account see his delightful book THE GRASSHOPPER: GAMES, LIFE AND UTOPIA) we can then distinguish between two kinds of rule violations, constitutive and instrumental. Obviously, if "players" started putting the ball in a canon and firing it right through the goaltender this would violate a constitutive rule of football. (If "players" used only the most efficient means possible of getting the ball in the other team's net they would not longer be playing football.) Not using one's hands seems (initially) to be a constitutive rule of football whereas, say, deliberately going off side when one's team is disorganized or one's goalkeeper is injured so as to stop play seems like a mere instrumental violation. After all agreeing not to use one's hands to move the ball is adopting less efficient means and seems to be constitutive of what football is. But Henry's case is a borderline one. Regardless of what he thinks--we now know that our "privileged access" to our intentions is not very reliable--he may have just used his hand somewhat inadvertently, or at least not fully deliberately. (It appears that he could not have got to the ball with his foot or knee and that without deflecting it the result would have just been a kick away by the Irish goalkeeper. So, great player that he is, he likely subconsciously realized this and did whatever was needed to keep the ball in play.) So this may have just been an instrumental not a constitutive violation. One that is (to go back to the legal analogy) more like thinking of speeding fines as the tax on driving fast than like imprisonment for assault which usually is not thought of as a tax on hitting people. <br />It is, it seems to me, perfectly appropriate to think that one will cheat and see if one can get away with it if one's cheating is simple instrumental violation rather than cheating that threatens the constitutive rules of the game. <br />Most of us, quite rightly, do not think of parking violations or moderate speeding as undermining the rule of law and the civil society it makes possible. And most football players do not think of feigning injury when tripped as undermining the game. Most of us think, however, that speeding to the degree that it constitutes reckless driving--to the point of putting others in unwarranted danger--as a more serious threat to society. What Henry did seems to be somewhere in the range of very, very fast driving but not quite reckless driving. <br />Of course, it is unfortunate the referee did not spot it. (The World Cup would do well to consider allowing--at some cost, say a free kick from fairly far out so there was about a 10% chance of a goal--the coach to challenge a play, in the manner that has been adopted by American football. With the appropriate implementation it could serve to make the beautiful game even more so.)Sheldon Weinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03900137001487365562noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36538074.post-57230532128175989212009-12-03T11:05:29.318+00:002009-12-03T11:05:29.318+00:00for Henry to have repented his decision to match o...for Henry to have repented his decision to match official would have been a disgrace of loyalty to his team mates. To be caught deliberately breaking the rules can have you dismissed from the game - this is usually what prevents it being a free for all, well, that, plus a dedication to skillful play. The sport is played with passion. Sometimes opportunities present themselves to exploit rules (e.g. diving when fouled to ensure the foul is awarded). Wreckless decisions sometimes manifest. At times, to acknowledge them as wreckless/unfair/etc. would be a betrayal of the team - in particular where it is matter of life or death (win or lose in a tournament). In football you make your decisions, stand by them and take the consequences. That is the mindset, and I doubt if player or supported alike would disagree. Responsibility is your own. You know the rules. If you escape punishment you will be seen as a villan (in the eyse of some) or a silent hero. Loyalty is paramount in football. <br /><br />In a variety of contexts the same may be said of lying or stealing (think, for example, of matters of national security).Jon Cameronhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10213273128547539321noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36538074.post-42219547612656773952009-12-03T10:48:42.588+00:002009-12-03T10:48:42.588+00:00I prefer to take a social contract perspective of ...I prefer to take a social contract perspective of rule breaking in sport. For if everyone takes the view that they will cheat and see if they get away with it then the game will become unplayable either because officials (and the any introduction of technology) will see infringements and stop the game, or officials won't see infringements and other players and spectators will feel there is no point playing and will leave the game. Either way, the game will become frustrating and unexciting to watch and play and professionalism will die.<br /><br />Players ought to abide by the rules of the game not because they have a moral duty to do so but because there is a pragmatic reason for doing so.Emily Ryallhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05777545000076878270noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36538074.post-38791338095976024892009-12-03T10:06:32.603+00:002009-12-03T10:06:32.603+00:00Yes I know that great philosopher Bill Shankly sai...Yes I know that great philosopher Bill Shankly said “Some people think football is a matter of life and death...I can assure them it is much more serious than that” but, honestly, it is ‘just a game’ and needs to be treated as such. We make a clear distinction between a ‘game’ (an amusement or pastime, a diversion) and ‘life’ (what we tend to do the rest of time), hence driving on the motorway is not a ‘game’ and rules should be followed because it is a matter of life and death. Games have rules, but part of the fun of a game is trying to bend or break those rules. Sport thrives on controversy and drama, which is why it is a diversion from life which is, on the whole, a very dull affair!Roy Jacksonnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36538074.post-62044545604878442172009-12-03T10:02:29.223+00:002009-12-03T10:02:29.223+00:00http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/nov/2...http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/nov/20/thierry-henry-handball-main-dieu <br /><br />The guardian love their philosophy / football crossover stories! Why is that?David W...https://www.blogger.com/profile/14620079005028926064noreply@blogger.com