Knowing the Score: What Sports Can Teach Us About Philosophy (And What Philosophy Can Teach Us About Sports)

by David Papineau Narrated by Matt Amendt

Overview

In Knowing the Score, philosopher David Papineau uses sports to illuminate some of modern philosophy's most perplexing questions. As Papineau demonstrates, the study of sports clarifies, challenges, and sometimes confuses crucial issues in philosophy. The tactics of road bicycle racing shed new light on questions of altruism, while sporting family dynasties reorient the nature v. nurture debate. Why do sports competitors choke? Why do fans think God will favor their team over their rivals? How can it be moral to deceive the umpire by framing a pitch? From all of these questions, and many more, philosophy has a great deal to learn.

An entertaining and erudite book that ranges far and wide through the sporting world, Knowing the Score is perfect reading for armchair philosophers and Monday morning quarterbacks alike.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

Wall Street Journal:
"Mr. Papineau's engaging book takes a look at a philosophical problem presented by a sport and links it to phenomena in the wider world."

Library Journal

06/15/2017
Papineau's (philosophy, Kings Coll. London, UK; Philosophical Devices: Proofs, Probabilities, Possibilities, and Sets) book isn't what this reviewer would think of as a typical "philosophy of sport" book that applies ethics and philosophy to sports. Instead, the author takes the more interesting approach and uses sports to explain philosophical theories. Areas covered include athletes' ability to focus, rules of sports, teams, tribes, and values. In each chapter, the author applies several different sports to explain the various theories. One difficulty that Papineau brings up is in including sports that have a wide global appeal so that readers will understand his examples. He succeeds by using baseball, soccer, golf, and cycling along with cricket and rugby to explain topics such as game theory, logic, and morality. While the reader will be rewarded by taking in the entire work, each chapter can also be read by itself. VERDICT Papineau's very accessible and passionate work should interest sports fans and philosophers who are looking for a unique intersection of the two topics.—Scott Duimstra, Capital Area Dist. Lib., Lansing, MI

Product Details

BN ID:	2940170118373
Publisher:	Hachette Audio
Publication date:	07/11/2017
Edition description:	Unabridged

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