Pragmatic Self-Cultivation and Endurance Sport
Dissertation, The Pennsylvania State University (
2002)
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Abstract
This dissertation examines the relationship between endurance sport and the philosophic theme of self-cultivation. More specifically, pragmatism is used as a lens through which the cultivating experiences of the endurance athlete can be examined and understood. To this point, the existing sport philosophy literature has paid little attention to pragmatism's potential utility for the field of kinesiology. In fact, only John Dewey's thought on pedagogical design and its possible application to the field of physical education has so far been effectively employed. This study attempts to fill this gap in the literature by applying several tenets of the pragmatic tradition to the direct experience of the athlete. The work of William James and John Dewey is used in concert with biographical accounts of athletes to produce a radically empirical treatment that incorporates both direct lived experience and traditional philosophical analysis. What results is an initial application of pragmatism to direct athletic experience, specifically that encountered in endurance sport, and a novel contribution to the sport philosophy literature