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Philosophy 327: Ethics & Sports
TuTh 10:20
EC3 336
Jean-Paul Vessel jvessel@nmsu.edu
Fall 2009
Office: Breland 324
Office Hours: Tu 2:30-4:00 PM, and by appt.
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Some are calling the great Henry "Thierry
the Cheat"--especially Irish folks!
This is the official PHIL 327 web site. Here you will find the
syllabus, handouts, study guides, reading assignments, written homework assignments,
news, and other relevant information. I'll try to keep this thing up to date,
but no guarantees! Suggestions and comments are most welcome, whether you are
a PHIL 327 student or a visitor. Please email jvessel@nmsu.edu
News and Assignments (The
"Living" Course Schedule):
- Tues., Dec. 1:
- New Reading Assignment: Jim Peach's
"College athletics, universities,
and the NCAA"
- Thurs., Nov. 19: Jon, George, and Chris Billings are scheduled
to present. If time permits, I'll present on the "Paradox
of Happiness". George will present on role models and athletes. Perhaps
you've seen this Charles
Barkley commercial.
- Thurs., Nov. 12: Exam 1
is scheduled to take place at 10:20 am. Please bring a couple of good pens
to class. Master this Study Guide for Exam
1.
- Tues., Nov. 10: Gamesmanship and luck. Then we'll turn
to the structure of Exam 1, which is scheduled to take place
at the beginning of class on Thursday, November 12.
- Thurs., Nov. 5: With the exception of Jack, Phillip, and
Matt, your term papers are due by the beginning of class. A study guide for
Exam 1 (which is scheduled to take place during class on
Thursday, November 12) should be appearing soon. Winning and athletic superiority
will occupy our intellectual concerns.
- Tues., Nov. 3: We'll investigate theoretical objections
to The Second Formulation of Kant's Categorical
Imperative before turning to Dixon's positions on winning and athletic
superiority. Be prepared to jump into some juicy stuff: officials, cheating,
gamesmanship, guile, cunning, coolness under pressure, luck, and justice.
Excluding Jack and Phillip, your term papers are due by the beginning of class
on Thursday, November 5. No late papers will be accepted.
- Thurs., Oct. 29: After investigating utilitarian objections
to contemporary sporting competitions, we'll turn our attention to winning
and athletic superiority. Here's my handout on The
Second Formulation of Kant's Categorical Imperative. Understand and be
able to explain the Kantian objection to competitive sporting activities. Here's
my handout on Classical Utilitarianism.
Understand and be able to explain the utilitarian objection to competitive
sporting activities. Check out Reggie
Bush doing the unthinkable. Get to work on those term papers.
- Final Reading Assignment Prior to Exam 1:
Dixon's "On Winning and Athletic Superiority" (116-129)
- Tues., Oct. 27: We'll complete our discussion of Boxill's
"Ethics of Competition," exploring the nature of cooperation and
a "sporting" mutation of classical utilitarianism along the way.
If time permits, we'll explore the (alleged?) relationships between winning
and athletic superiority. What is athletic superiority anyway? Get to work
on those term papers.
- Thurs., Oct. 22: We'll continue our investigation of moral
attacks upon a variety of sporting competitions. I hope to return your term
paper quizzes so that you can get to work on the real deal.
- Tues., Oct. 20: Taxonomy of Sporting Competitions. Do serious
sporting competitions of specific types require that athletes treat others
as mere means? Do they usher unnecessary pain into the world? Your Take
Home Term Paper Quiz is due by the beginning of class. No late quizzes
will be accepted. No term papers will be accepted from anyone who fails to
turn in his Take Home Term Paper Quiz on
time. How can you fail to dig
this mini-Bruin.
- Tues., Oct. 13: We'll engage in a final grapple with the
nature of sports, then the ethics of competition. You're Take
Home Term Paper Quiz is due in precisely one week.
- Thurs., Oct. 8: We'll continue to explore the nature of
sports before jumping into the Boxill piece. Please get started on your Take
Home Term Paper Quiz. If you have troubles with it, please contact me
soon so that I can help.
- The Take Home Term Paper Quiz is due
by the beginning of class on Tuesday, October 20. Here's the Official
Term Paper Document. Your term papers are due by the beginning of class
on Thursday, November 5. No late assignments will be accepted. Please utilize
these Presentation Guidelines
in the construction of your presentation projects. Exam 1 is coming sometime
soon: Be on the lookout for a study guide and some new handouts.
- Tues., Oct. 6: We'll discuss term papers before returning
to the nature of sport (athletics). We might dive into the Boxill piece, so
be prepared for a short in-class quiz on Boxill's "The Ethics of Competition"
at the beginning of class. I'm intrigued by cheating in sports. What exactly
is cheating, anyway? And what's the conceptual relationship (or lack thereof)
between cheating and morally permissible behavior? Wrap your mind around the
PEEing procedure with these Step-by-Step Instructions
on How to PEE. Learn to PEE. Learn to love to PEE!!
- Thurs., Oct. 1: We'll return to our investigation of the
nature of sport (or athletics) itself. A short in-class quiz dedicated to
Boxill's "The Ethics of Competition" may take place at the beginning
of class.
- Reading Assignment: Boxill's "The
Ethics of Competition" (107-115)
- Tues., Sept. 29: An in-class quiz on Baby
Logic and the Background on NEB will likely
take place near the end of class. It might even contain a question or two
about Boxill's "The Ethics of Competition". Before the quiz, we'll
focus our attention upon a moral theory motivated by the Golden Rule and engage
in more collective PEEing. Welcome back veterans!
- Thurs., Sept. 24: It seems that I was wrong: Jon See and
Chris Billings are officially excused from this class, though (I think) this
will be the last one. Collective PEEing is bound to transpire. Please learn
how to PEE. Learn to love to PEE! We'll tackle some popular theological approaches
to the quest for the supreme principle of morality. Your Take Home Quiz on
an Analysis of Sport (or Athletics) is due by the beginning of class, so veterans:
Please take note.
- Sophia--the
NMSU Philosophy Club--cordially invites you to hear Dr. William Michael
Kallfelz present his paper, "Transformation Reduction “Precisified”
through Structuralism", Wednesday, Sept. 23, at 4:30 in GU 100.
- Tues., Sept. 22: We'll dedicate the class to the normative
ethics of behavior and the nature of argumentation in moral philosophy, so
please print out a hard copy of this handout on Background
on NEB and bring it to class. Note that this is the last day of vacation
for my veterans. Recall my attendance policy: Your final, overall grade drops
a complete level (e.g., from a "B" to "C") for every three
unexcused absences you compile. Some of you missed what I took to be a thought-provoking
exploration of Keating's etymological analyses of sport and athletics.
You'll probably want to starting working on this take home quiz that is due
by the beginning of class on Thursday, September 24.
- Take Home Quiz on an Analysis of Sport (or Athletics):
Find some analysis of sport (or athletics) that is not contained either in
the Boxill anthology or my The Concept of
a Sport handout. Provide a bibliographical entry for your source. Quote
the analysis. Then either criticize the analysis or praise one of its (alleged?)
virtues. These quizzes should be ONE page long. Quizzes should
be typed. No quiz will be accepted after 10:20 AM on Thursday, September
24.
- Thurs., Sept. 17: After a few short logic puzzles, we'll
turn our attention to the normative ethics of behavior and the nature of argumentation
in moral philosophy, so please print out a hard copy of this handout on Background
on NEB and bring it to class. If time permits, we might even jump
into some controversies regarding the nature of sport itself, so I guess you
better print out a hard copy of this handout on The
Concept of a Sport, bring it to class, and start studying it. An upcoming
take-home quiz will require that you find some analysis of the concept of
a sport not contained in the Boxill anthology. More information regarding
this quiz will appear soon.
- Sophia--the
NMSU Philosophy Club--cordially invites you to attend our first meeting of
the semester. Mark Walker will be presenting his "Playing
Doctor: why the uninsured ought to be permitted to self-medicate,"
in room BC 106 (Business Complex) at New Mexico State University on Sept.
16 at 4:30 PM.
- Tues., Sept. 15: A short in-class quiz dedicated to the
Heinegg reading will take place at about 10:20 AM. We'll return to logic,
so please bring a hard copy of this Baby Logic
handout to class. If time permits, we might even jump into the fundamental
project of the normative ethics of behavior.
- New Reading Assignment: Heinegg's
"Philosopher in the Playground: Notes on the Meaning of Sport."
(53-55).
- Thurs., Sept. 10: After completing our discussion of the
nature of moral philosophy, we'll turn our attention to logic, so please bring
a hard copy of this Baby Logic handout to
class.
- Tues., Sept. 8: What is the nature of moral philosophy
(or ethics)? How is moral philosophy distinct from the other subfields of
philosophy? To what extent does moral philosophy overlap with some of the
other subfields? We'll explore these questions and possibly even chat a bit
about sports.
- Thurs., Sept. 3: Your Take Home
Quiz on the Boxill Introduction is due by the beginning of
class. We'll complete our discussion of the nature of philosophy and begin
an investigation into the nature of ethics. Attendance remains optional for
those with veteran status.
- Tues., Sept. 1: We
will not be meeting as a class today. Philosophical action and familial responsibilities
will rule my Tuesday morning. Instead of coming to class, I encourage you
to use your time to work on the Take Home Quiz on Boxill Introduction below.
- Take Home Quiz on the Boxill Introduction:
Identify some passage in Boxill's introduction that sparks your interest (or
at least is such that you understand it clearly). Write a brief, concise summary
of the selected passage, including quotations if necessary. Then provide some
kind of evaluative or exploratory commentary upon the passage. Evaluative:
Is anything in the passage susceptible to an objection. If so, then present
and evaluate the objection. Might Boxill have an interesting response to the
objection? Explain. Exploratory: Is there something in the
passage that might lead to further theoretical concerns? Describe. Explain.
These quizzes should be ONE page long. Quizzes should be
typed. No quiz will be accepted after 10:20 am on Thursday, September
3. (Again: Vacationing veterans are permitted to email it to me prior
to 10:20 am on Thursday.)
- Thurs., Aug. 27: Your Take
Home Quiz on the Philosopher's Index is due by the
beginning of class. (Vacationing veterans are permitted to email it to me
prior to 10:20 AM on Thursday.) We'll continue to discuss the nature of philosophy
before turning to logic. Read the introduction to your text. Listen to the
radio show. (Attendance is optional for those with veteran status.) Bring
a hard copy of this Baby Logic handout to
class.
- First Reading and Listening Assignments:
Jan Boxill's "Introduction: The Moral Significance of Sport" (1-12)
and this Discussion
of Sports Ethics on PhilosophyTalk.org.
It's likely that an in-class quiz or take home assignment related to these
will either take place or be due on Tuesday, September 1.
- Here's your Take Home
Quiz on the Philosopher's Index. Quizzes should be typed.
No quizzes will be accepted after 10:20 am on Thursday, August 27.
- Tues., Aug. 25: What is Philosophy? Start thinking about
potential research projects. Do some research. Do the Take Home Quiz. (Attendance
is optional for veterans of my ethics courses.)
- Welcome Students! Please get down to the NMSU Bookstore (second floor) and
pick up a copy of Sports Ethics: An Anthology (by Jan Boxill).
- Please take a look at the Baby Logic handout
below. Try to get a grasp of the concepts of validity and soundness. Become
familiar with the basic forms of valid inference. Memorize the definition
of 'valid'.
- Please read through Bruce Aune's "Punctuation
and Syntax". (You should probably print out a copy of it.) Contained
within the document are style constraints that must be adhered to if you hope
to succeed in this class. It's long, dry, and not all that philosophical--but
I know you can get through it.
Handouts:
Resources for Sports Ethics:
J-P's Philosophy Pages
NMSU Philosophy Department
Homepage
Sophia: The NMSU
Student Philosophy Club
Stanford Encyclopedia
of Philosophy
PhilosophyTalk.org
NASA's
Astronomy Picture of the Day
