<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p>Sport occupies a central role in modern society. Philosophers of sport suggest that sport can offer a realm of play by being structurally and logically independent from everyday life. But what ethical values can sport be seen to offer us, if any? Explanations are sought based on Honneth’s theory of recognition. Honneth views the presence of three forms of recognition - love, rights, and solidarity - as necessary conditions not only for a just society, but also for a society in which human beings can realize their potential and experience life as being good. Based on Honneth, I argue that sport can be seen as an arena with potential for an aggregated form of recognition. If practiced in the right way, sport has the potential to realize all three forms of recognition inherent in society.</p></abstract>

Sport occupies a central role in modern society. Philosophers of sport suggest that sport can offer a realm of play by being structurally and logically independent from everyday life. But what ethical values can sport be seen to offer us, if any? Explanations are sought based on Honneth’s theory of recognition. Honneth views the presence of three forms of recognition - love, rights, and solidarity - as necessary conditions not only for a just society, but also for a society in which human beings can realize their potential and experience life as being good. Based on Honneth, I argue that sport can be seen as an arena with potential for an aggregated form of recognition. If practiced in the right way, sport has the potential to realize all three forms of recognition inherent in society.

Love, Rights, and Solidarity: Sports’ Potential for Recognition

The Norwegian School of Sport Science, Norway

Physical Culture and Sport. Studies and Research

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

{"article-title":"Love, Rights, and Solidarity: Sports\u2019 Potential for Recognition"}

Sport occupies a central role in modern society. Philosophers of sport suggest that sport can offer a realm of play by being structurally and logically...

Love, Rights, and Solidarity: Sports’ Potential for Recognition

Published Online: Dec 05, 2015

Page range: 23 - 33

Received: Oct 29, 2015

Accepted: Nov 16, 2015

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/pcssr-2015-0028

Keywords
normative social theory, Honneth, recognition in sport

© 2015 Wivi Andersen, published by De Gruyter Open

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Love, Rights, and Solidarity: Sports’ Potential for Recognition

Published Online: Dec 05, 2015

Page range: 23 - 33

Received: Oct 29, 2015

Accepted: Nov 16, 2015

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/pcssr-2015-0028

Keywordsnormative social theory, Honneth, recognition in sport

© 2015 Wivi Andersen, published by De Gruyter Open

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Keywords
normative social theory, Honneth, recognition in sport