Soccer and philosophy : beautiful thoughts on the beautiful game / edited by Ted Richards.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Richards, Ted, 1968-

Series:

Popular culture and philosophy ; v. 51.

Popular culture and philosophy ; v. 51

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Soccer--Philosophy.

Soccer.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (417 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Chicago : Open Court, c2010.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

This collection of incisive articles gives a leading team of international philosophers a free kick toward exploring the complex and often hidden contours of the world of soccer. What does it really mean to be a fan (and why should we count Aristotle as one)? Why do great players such as Cristiano Ronaldo count as great artists (up there alongside Picasso, one author argues)? From the ethics of refereeing to the metaphysics of bent (like Beckham) space-time, this book shows soccer fans and philosophy buffs alike new ways to appreciate and understand the world's favorite sport.

Contents:

Contents; Warm-up; THANKS; FIRST HALF; 1 Why Is Football So Fascinating?; 2 May the Best Team Win!; 3 Nietzsche's Arsenal; 4 Aristotle's Favorite Sport; 5 Plato and the Greatness of the Game; 6 Can Robots Play Soccer?; 7 The Hand of God, and Other Soccer . . . Miracles?; INTERMISSION; 8 What's Luck Got to Do with It?; 9 What's Wrong with Negative Soccer?; 10 He Had to Bring Him Down!; SECOND HALF; 11 Why Playing Beautifully Is Morally Better; 12 How to Appreciate the Fingertip Save; 13 Is Ronaldo a Modern Picasso?; 14 Kant at the Maracanã; 15 Embellishing the Ugly Side of the Beautiful Game

FIRST EXTRA-TIME16 Is It Rational to Support Aston Villa?; 17 The Evolution of the Football Fan and the Way of Virtue; 18 Playing the Derby; 19 Villa till I Die!; SECOND EXTRA-TIME; 20 Tell Me How You Play and I'll Tell You Who You Are; 21 Barça's Treble; 22 A 'Messi' Way of Life; 23 Hungary's Revolutionary Golden Team; 24 When a Soccer Club Becomes a Mirror; KICKS FROM THE MARK; 25 Bad Luck or the Ref's Fault?; 26 Kierkegaard at the Penalty Spot; 27 "It's a Lottery!"; 28 The Loneliness of the Referee; 29 God Is Not a Referee; 30 The Player Prophet and the Phenomenology of Reading the Ref

31 The Boy Done Good? Football's ClichésThe First Team; Index

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

1-282-71855-X

9786612718557

0-8126-9682-4

OCLC:

646788579