Abstract

Internalism is a theoretical approach to understanding and assessing sport that provides a framework for examining questions such as the following: Is athletic competition morally defensible or does it by its very nature overemphasize winning and denigrate those who don’t win as losers? How should we understand sportsmanship and what does it require? What is fair play? How should coaches distribute playing time among their team members? More broadly, what if anything accounts for the interest and passion shown by participants in and spectators of sport around the world? Do the features that account for fascination with sport morally legitimize it or is sport, especially elite competitive athletics, a practice that perniciously distracts us from the issues of the day and instills an unethical win-at-all cost attitude that carries over in all aspects of our culture?