Practical Philosophy of Sport is a breakthrough in introductory sport philosophy texts. It's readable, easy-to-understand, and excellent for helping students and professionals in physical education, sport, and exercise science develop values and ethics to guide their careers. The book demystifies philosophy and shows that it can be a useful tool for solving daily professional problems. The text encourages readers to move beyond just reading about or passively listening to philosophy and invites them to "do" it. Practical Philosophy of Sport helps readers develop professional reasoning skills, find answers to their philosophic questions, and form a personal philosophy of physical education, sport, and exercise science.

A History and Philosophy of Sport and Physical Education has been written to engage readers with essential information while prompting critical introspection, to both inspire and educate. This edition highlights salient individuals, movements, beliefs, and events that have impacted the long and storied historical and philosophical development of sport, physical education, and kinesiology. Robert Mechikoff offers students a layered and scholarly look into the sports and physical activities of the world - ranging from Ancient Egypt, Greece, and Rome to the emergence of the professional and academic disciplines of physical education and kinesiology in the modern world, as well as the political and social modern realities of the Olympic Games.

A History and Philosophy of Sport and Physical Education - From Ancient Civilizations to the Modern World, has been meaningfully written to engage readers with essential information and critical introspection that is meant to inspire and educate. This edition highlights salient individuals, movements, beliefs, and events that have impacted the long and storied historical and philosophical development of sport, physical education, and kinesiology. Robert Mechikoff offers students a layered and scholarly look into the sports and physical activities of the world - ranging from Ancient Egypt, Greece, and Rome to the emergence of the professional and academic disciplines of physical education and kinesiology in the modern world, as well as the political and social modern realities of the Olympic Games.

Philosophy is a crucial, yet often overlooked, part of kinesiology students' education. Practical Philosophy of Sport and Physical Activity, Second Edition, provides students with a thorough, clear, and practical introduction to the philosophy of physical activity and sport, and in doing so, prepares them for the ethical questions they will face as professionals. This second edition has been significantly revised, and it has been enhanced to include the following features: -Expanded instruction on practical ethics in physical activity, guiding students in how to rank values and turn those values into actions -New material that emphasizes physical activity as well as sport, and provides specific holistic techniques for the practitioner in the workplace -In-depth case studies along with discussion questions that can be used to teach students how to follow a philosophical argument and come to their own conclusions The case studies, one on running up the score and the other on performance-enhancing substances, are based on two articles that are reprinted in their entirety in the appendix. Practical Philosophy of Sport and Physical Activity, Second Edition, helps students examine key moral questions in sport. Its approach to the content helps students follow and dissect ethical arguments, think through philosophic issues, and apply theory to practice. Each chapter includes objectives, philosophical exercises, reviews, and study questions to reinforce understanding. Kretchmar's engaging writing style accentuates important topics of discussion, focusing the readers' attention on the philosophy behind the practice or strategy. As a result, students develop their philosophical skills, refine their personal philosophy concerning physical activity and sport, and learn that philosophy can be clear, practical, and holistic, rather than obscure, overly theoretical, and dualistic. The text is arranged in four parts. Part I introduces students to the nature and methods of philosophy. Part II focuses on issues relating to the nature of the athlete or client and includes analyses of dualism, scientific materialism, and holism. Part III delves into kinesiology issues, including the nature of play, games, and competition, and Part IV provides expanded material on ethics, value choices, and active lifestyles. This text provides students with the practical tools and specific techniques they need to think ethically and systematically, as they become skilled practitioners in the field of physical activity and sport. In doing so, it demystifies philosophy and reveals it as the guiding element in our understanding of, and approach to, activity, games, and competitions.

A "History and philosophy of sport and physical education : from Ancient civilizations to the modern world", has been meaningfully written to engage readers with essential information and critical introspection that is meant to inspire and educate. This edition highlights salient individuals, movements, beliefs, and events that have impacted the long and storied historical and philosophical development of sport, physical education, and kinesiology.

This in-depth discussion of New Testament scholarship and the challenges of history as a whole proposes Bayes’s Theorem, which deals with probabilities under conditions of uncertainty, as a solution to the problem of establishing reliable historical criteria. The author demonstrates that valid historical methods—not only in the study of Christian origins but in any historical study—can be described by, and reduced to, the logic of Bayes’s Theorem. Conversely, he argues that any method that cannot be reduced to this theorem is invalid and should be abandoned. Writing with thoroughness and clarity, the author explains Bayes’s Theorem in terms that are easily understandable to professional historians and laypeople alike, employing nothing more than well-known primary school math. He then explores precisely how the theorem can be applied to history and addresses numerous challenges to and criticisms of its use in testing or justifying the conclusions that historians make about the important persons and events of the past. The traditional and established methods of historians are analyzed using the theorem, as well as all the major "historicity criteria" employed in the latest quest to establish the historicity of Jesus. The author demonstrates not only the deficiencies of these approaches but also ways to rehabilitate them using Bayes’s Theorem. Anyone with an interest in historical methods, how historical knowledge can be justified, new applications of Bayes’s Theorem, or the study of the historical Jesus will find this book to be essential reading.