Hague, Daniel Luke;
(2024)
What is the Nature of Sport? Formalism, Conventionalism and Interpretivism Reconsidered.
Masters thesis (M.Phil.Stud), UCL (University College London).
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Abstract
In this thesis, two connected questions about the nature of sport will be examined. First, when does a sportsperson cease to play the sport? Second, what standards constitute sport? These questions are examined via three prominent theories of sport: formalism, conventionalism and interpretivism. This thesis primarily proposes, elaborates and defends the ordinary, pretheoretical idea that sports are solely constituted by rules. In chapter one, formalism is proposed. The view that sports are defined solely by their constitutive rules. In chapter two, conventionalism is elaborated. This chapter argues conventional rules partly constitute sport. Throughout these chapters, primary and secondary rules (mainly, secondary rules of adjudication), written and unwritten rules, conventional and non-conventional rules, institutional and non-institutional rules, and rules and generally recognised reasons are distinguished from one another. In chapter three, formalism is defended. Most importantly, chapter three argues Russell (1999) fails to show principles constitute sport. To be clear, however, the main argument explains and critically evaluates interpretivism. This thesis also attempts to explain when a sportsperson ceases to play the sport. In doing so, it defends formalism from a popular criticism and introduces conventionalism. Many philosophers of sport assume formalism implies Suits’ (2014) view that a sportsperson no longer plays the game after they break a constitutive rule. In the main, chapter one shows Suits’ view should be abandoned and an alternative view ought to be proposed. Roughly, in chapter two, it is proposed quite simply that a sportsperson ceases to play the sport after they break a rule that disqualifies them from the game, and they are disqualified. However, this proposal is supplemented with conventional rules. This proposal also clarifies the relationship between rule violations and their enforcement, and distinguishes between an ideal and de facto sense in which a sportsperson ceases to play the sport.
| Type: | Thesis (Masters) |
|---|---|
| Qualification: | M.Phil.Stud |
| Title: | What is the Nature of Sport? Formalism, Conventionalism and Interpretivism Reconsidered |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | Copyright © The Author 2024. Original content in this thesis is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0) Licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/). Any third-party copyright material present remains the property of its respective owner(s) and is licensed under its existing terms. Access may initially be restricted at the author’s request. |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL SLASH UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL SLASH > Faculty of Arts and Humanities UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL SLASH > Faculty of Arts and Humanities > Dept of Philosophy |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10196288 |
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