FINAL. EXAM

Question 1

What are the 2 types of value that physical activity can have for human beings?

Answer 1

extrinsic value: PA is used as a means to an ends. Ex: using sport skill to get scholarship, using PA for its health and fitness value

intrinsic value: PA can be valuable as an end in itself (autotelic). Ex: playing sport for “the love of the game”, exercising for sheer enjoyment

Question 2

What is philosophy? Briefly explain the difference between philosophy and rhetoric.

Answer 2

philosophy is the “art and science of”
-wondering about reality, posing questions related to that wonder, pursuing answers to those questions in a reflective manner

in philosophy you examine your beliefs and reasons you hold them, not to try to falsely persuade people that your beliefs are best

Question 3

what are the branches and sub-branches of philosophy?

Answer 3

Metaphysics: deals with questions concerning the nature and purpose of things

• ontology:deals w/ questions about the nature of things
• teleology: deals w/ questions about the purpose of things

Axiology:deals with questions of value

• Ethics:deals with questions about right and wrong
• Aesthetics: deals with questions about beauty

Epistemology: deals with questions concerning what we can know, and how we can know it

Question 4

What are the 6 tendencies within American society discussed by Drs. Kretchmar and Hager?

Answer 4

overemphasis on product over process, runaway individualism, too many responsibilities/lack of time, excessive escapism, excessive survivalism, oppressive rationalism

Question 5

What evidence is there for each overemphasis of product over process?

Answer 5

overemphasis on strategic reasoning and advantage seeking,

• winning emphasized over competition
• image emphasized over substance and health
• quantity and efficiency emphasized over quality

Question 6

What evidence is there for runway individualism?

Answer 6

overemphasis on individual achievement

• overemphasis on strategic reasoning and advantage seeking
• increase in cheating and unethical behavior
• lack of common values and a common direction

Question 7

What evidence is there for too many responsibilities/ lack of time

Answer 7

overemphasis on importance of job or career

• lack of awareness of others and our morals responsibilities to them
• lack of community
• quantity and efficiency emphasized over quality

Question 8

What evidence is there for excessive escapism

Answer 8

overuse of sport and physical activity as forms of escape from everyday life and problems

• fascination with virtual world and activities
• overuse of technology

Question 9

What evidence is there for excessive survivalism

Answer 9

overemphasis on the mechanistic health of the physical body

• overemphasis on instrumental (extrinsic) value of PA for health
• survival as metaphor for winning

Question 10

What evidence is there for oppressive rationalism

Answer 10

overemphasis on the role of science and technology in human life

• overemphasis on mechanistic view of persons
• reduced emphasis on spiritual and emotional aspects of being human
• lack of emphasis on play and the intrinsic value of PA

Question 11

Name and define the 3 types of values discussed in class

Answer 11

moral: motives and traits that help one act well in relation to others
Ex: honesty, respect, compassion, sportspersonship, justice/fairness

social: motives and traits valued by the members of a particular society
Ex: leadership, teamwork, efficiency, loyalty, courage

non-moral: items, skills, expiernces and conditions people desire
Ex: winning, security, health, happiness, knowledge

Question 12

What false assumptions exist in relation to the belief that sport builds character?

Answer 12

1) all children will be positively affected by their sports experiences
2) sport automatically teaches positive moral and social values to all who participate in it

Question 13

empirical methods

Answer 13

• negative relationship between sport participation and delinquency
• positive relationship between sport participation and “lessening of restraints on aggression”
• relationship between sport participation and prosocial behavior is less clear than believed

Question 14

Explain the distinction between competition and decompetition that Shields makes in “Opponents or Enemies: Rethinking the Nature of Competition

Answer 14

competition: sport is viewed as a partnership, goal is mastery and excellence, focus is on process of competition, opponents are enablers, officials are game facilitators, rules are imperfect guides to fairness
decompetition: sport viewed as battle or war, goal is domination, focus is on winning, opponents are obstacles officials are opponents, rules are partially tolerated restraints

Question 15

What are the characteristics of play activities according to Huizinga?

Answer 15

• freely chosen
• are participated in for their own sake (autotelic)
• are not used for instrumental purposes (intrinsically valued)
• have limits of time and space
• have rules that assist in creating the play world

Question 16

What is the stance of sport and play according to Hyland?

Answer 16

play is that of “responsive openness”
play requires us to:
-be as open to what is happening and to the opportunities presented by an activity as possible
-respond to the opportunities and situations that arise

Question 17

What is the flow state? What characteristics do athletes experience in the flow state?

Answer 17

psychological state of optimal experience that stands out from everyday life, individuals do not always experience success

• typically occur to athletes who have attained a level of skill mastery
• athletes experience a sense of control

Question 18

Explain how the Challenge/Skill Balance (CS Balance) and the other primary elements of flow make flow experiences more likely to occur.

Answer 18

CS balance: memorable states are facilitated to some degree by a perceived balance between challenges an athlete faces and the skills that athlete possesses

primary elements: an experience of sport as an autotelic activity

• intense concentration on task at hand
• a merging of action and awareness
• a loss of self-consciousness

Question 19

What are the primary objectives of Eastern and Western sport?

Answer 19

western: concerned with winning, competitive athletic superiority
eastern: vehicle or means to inner awareness and self- knowledge

Question 20

What is the ego-mind?

Answer 20

the part of the mind that is continually trying to direct our actions
-this part is strongly affected by athletes fears, desires, hopes, regrets, and anger

Question 21

Explain the process by which Zen and yoga techniques assist athletes in achieving inner awareness and self-knowledge.

Answer 21

training techniques can help quiet ego-mind so that the unconscious, intuitive, creative aspect of self is free to act
-these techniques help keep athletes fears, desires, anger from adversely affecting their performance

Question 22

What paradoxes do athletes experience when the ego-mind is quieted and the intuitive aspect of self begins to initiate action?

Answer 22

the paradox of effortless effort: with a quieted mind, athletes move intuitively from their center and experience hard work as being effortless

the paradox of action w/o acting: when action is initiated by the still point of the athletes center rather than by the desires and fears of the ego-mind, the athlete may seem to witness another self carrying out skills

Question 23

Explain whether the ego-mind positively or negatively affects athletes and how it does so.

Answer 23

athletes are often negatively affected by their ego minds, and tend to perform better when it’s quiet.
-fears, desires, anger etc. are controlled by the ego-mind and can negatively impact performance

Question 24

Describe the qualities and characteristics that Hyland believes are highlighted by the stance of play and sport.

Answer 24

finitude: the limitations of our bodies in strength, speed, flexibility, skill, etc.
- time limitations and spatial boundaries placed upon us by rules
- rules themselves limit our actions in order to provide us with the challenges that give sport their meaning and possibilities

Question 25

Describe the qualities and characteristics that Hyland believes are highlighted by the stance of play and sport.
Possibility

Answer 25

possibility: challenges that require us to master the specific skills and techniques that make sport fun and meaningful
- finitude (the body that limits our physical actions) provides us with the ability and skill to succeed in a sport

Question 26

Describe the qualities and characteristics that Hyland believes are highlighted by the stance of play and sport.
freedom

Answer 26

freedom: freedom of style and individuality

- in sport we experience freedom while working within limitations.

Question 27

Describe the qualities and characteristics that Hyland believes are highlighted by the stance of play and sport.
risk taking + trust

Answer 27

Risk-taking and trust: sport involves a variety of risks, risk of injury, losing, and of alienation. we accept these risks when we voluntarily participate in certain activities. Trust can help in the reduction of types of risk. the greater trust we have in teammates, equipment, etc. the more willing we are to take risks

Question 28

Describe the qualities and characteristics that Hyland believes are highlighted by the stance of play and sport.
value

Answer 28

value: responsive openness is neither good or bad, it has potential to be either. sports can be ethically problematic. whether they affect participants positively or negatively depends on how they respond to the possibilities presented to them

Question 29

Describe the qualities and characteristics that Hyland believes are highlighted by the stance of play and sport.
fun

Answer 29

fun: the ultimate end of sport. sport at its best is fun for participants

Question 30

Describe the two contrasting views or aspects of human nature Hyland discusses in “The Stance of Sport.”

Answer 30

incomplete human beings: naturally open to opportunities to complete themselves and naturally gravitate to sport and play activities in which they have opportunities to enter into relationships with opponents teammates, partners, etc. that will help them complete themselves

complete human beings: naturally responsive to the possibilities and situations sport and play to them. they are attracted to sport bc it provides them w/ the opportunities to give themselves to activities as complete beings and to display and express their wholeness through the skills and actions of the activity

human beings are drawn to activities that demand the stance of responsive openness bc such activities satisfy both aspects of our natures. play and sport strongly feature this stance

Question 31

metaphysics

Answer 31

branch of philosphy that deals with questions concerning the nature and purpose of things
Sub-branches:
-ontology:deals w/ questions about the nature of things
-teleology: deals w/ questions about the purpose of things

Question 32

axiology

Answer 32

branch of philosophy that deals with questions of value
sub-branches:
-ethics:deals with questions about right and wrong
-aesthetics: deals with questions about beauty

Question 33

epistemology

Answer 33

branch of philosophy that deals with questions concerning what we can know, and how we can know it