London Lecture Series
This year's London Lectures are on philosophy and sport. We hope to publish podcasts and videos of the lectures here too.
The talks begin at 5.45 pm in the lecture hall, Dr. Williams's Library, 14 Gordon Square, London WC1H 0AR. There is a map here. The lectures last an hour, followed by half an hour of questions and answers. All of the talks are free and open to the public. You are recommended to arrive in good time so as to ensure a place.
October
14th Stephen Mumford, “Ways of Watching Sport”
Sport is about competition and victory is the goal. But must we always see it that way? In this talk, I argue for a more aesthetic perception of sport. The goals of sport are ultimately meaningless so why do we play it and watch it? What's its interest to us? I claim that setting up these pointless contests serves a very real and important purpose: it allows us a deep insight into and understanding of the nature of our embodied existence as rational agents.
21st Graham Macdonald, "Competition, Equality, and the Joy of Sport"
Politicians have often used sporting metaphors to provide a little substance to an ideal of 'fairness': an outcome is fair if the playing field is level, everyone starts at the same point, and so on. Here I wish to do the reverse, using an account of the ideal of equality of opportunity in education to throw light on what it would mean for sporting competitions to implement such an ideal. I hope that this discussion will throw some light on the multifaceted nature of sport, and on the various reasons to enjoy it.
28th Graham Priest, “Karatedo and Buddhist Thought”
It is generally acknowledged that there is a close connection between the East Asian martial arts, such as karatedo, and Buddhist philosophy - if only because legend has it that Bodhidharma (5/6 c. CE) was the founder of Zen Buddhism and Shaolin kungfu. The precise nature of the connection is rarely discussed, however. That connection will be the topic of this lecture.
November
4th Mike Austin, “Sport as a Moral Practice: An Aristotelian Approach”
The claim that I will articulate and defend in this paper is that sport should be approached as a moral practice. For my purposes, this means that a primary though not sole function of sport should be the cultivation of moral and intellectual virtue.
11th P. Ebert & S. Robertson, “Mountaineering: a Plea for Risk”
In this talk, we'll argue for two conclusions: first, there is a common misconception about the nature and therefore degree of risk involved in “risk-sports” like mountaineering; and second, the risks inherent in mountaineering are one aspect of it that make it a valuable activity.
18th Anthony O’Hear, “Not a Matter of Life and Death”
Why do people, players and spectators alike invest so much time, effort and emotional commitment, and in extreme cases, even their lives, to sport? If sport matters it must matter for its own sake, and it has clearly done so from the time of Homer onwards (and probably before). But what are or should be the limits of this mattering?
25th Paul Snowdon, “Sport and Life”
Participating in or observing sport is massive part of most of our lives and we devote considerable resources to it. Although there are those sceptical about it, many of us think sport contributes something of value to our lives. My aim is to analyse what sport is and to relate its elements to the kind of creatures that we are so that its value for us can be, to some extent, illuminated. Along the way the views of some philosophers, such as Mill and Wittgenstein, will be scrutinised.
December
2nd Timothy Chappell, “Glory in Sport”
Glory is something that the sportsmen and sportswomen, the film stars and actors, the pop stars, celebrities, and “personalities” who dominate our public life and discourse all typically aim at. The notion of glory is a neglected one in philosophy and ethics, but I think the notion has much to teach us about the real structure of our ethical concepts. My paper develops this idea with particular reference to sport.
January
20th Emily Ryall, “What is the Value of Athletic Performance in an Era of Technological Enhancement?”
This talk will consider the limits to human athletic performance and will ask whether the premium we place upon events such as the men's 100m Olympic final can be justified? It will cover the logical limits to performance, the impact of enhancement technologies, and the nature and value of sport.
27th Phil Bartlett, “Is Mountaineering a Sport?”
More particularly, is it an Olympic sport? There is an anarchic streak to mountaineering, part of a distinctive philosophical position, and a long history of resistance on the part of mountaineers to control or organisation. I shall consider these matters, essentially from a British perspective, and explain in detail what I think the rewards- and costs -of mountaineering are. I shall indicate where I think the "core" values of mountaineering lie, thereby implying what changes in the way it is practised would or would not cause irreparable loss.
February
3rd Michael Brearley, “Rivalry and Cooperation in Sport and Beyond”
NB Change of Venue: Archaeology Lecture Theatre, Archaeology Building, on the corner of Gordon Square and Endsleigh Place.
Rivalry and competitiveness are central to sport, and of course, a fortiori, to cricket. If human beings were not combative no one would have invented sport. But if human beings were not also cooperative neither team nor individual games would have found a place in society. Eivalry can—and indeed should—be taken close to the limit. But alongside this, cricket also involves the recognition of the unspoken or unprescribed realities of the spirit, respect and generosity of the game. This is not merely a matter of obedience to the laws (or rules) governing the game; it also involves the kinds of ordinary civilities that oil the wheels of relationships and collegial activities, the recognition of limits, the consideration and respect, and the give and take of a kind of dialogic interplay on the field.
10th Change to programme: Due to circumstances beyond his control, Colin McGinn cannot make this date, and we hope to reschedule, but meanwhile we're very happy to say that Steven Connor, author of a recent book on philosophy and sport, has agreed to step in. His talk is called, "Getting Lucky and Going for Broke: Chance, Probability and the Percentage Game". He tells us:
"In this talk I will think about the nature of chance and luck in sports, beginning from the intriguing fact that, while the playing of sports attempts to minimise the role of chance, the structure and conditions of sport aim to maximise the exposure to it and intensify its effects. By considering the intercourse of the rational (tactic and calculation) and the irrational (luck, superstition and gambling) in sport, I will try to earn the conclusion that sport is itself a kind of practical philosophy of chance."
17th David Papineau, “In the Zone”
Sporting success requires skills that are automatic yet intelligently tailored to circumstances. This dual requirement tells us much about both sport and human nature.
24th Heather Reid, “Olympic Sacrifice”
The Olympic Games originated in religious sacrifice, and, based on this heritage, I argue that the modern Games should dedicate themselves to humanitarian rather than commercial goals.
March
2nd Paul Coates, “Chess, Imagination and Perceptual Understanding”
Like many physical sports, chess can be highly competitive. To play chess effectively requires mastery of a number of different skills. In particular it requires a special kind of imaginative ability, one that is allied to perception. In this talk I examine the role of the imagination in the way that human chess players (as contrasted with computers) exercise their understanding of both tactics and strategy. I conclude by showing why there are important parallels between our grasp of the possibilities latent in a chess position, and our perceptual understanding of the nature of physical objects.
