Tokyo Women's Christian University, Japan. Wendy L. Bowcher. Tokyo Gakugei University, Japan. ROBERT L. SIMON, Fair Play: The Ethics of Sport, 2nd edn.
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Book Review: Fair Play: The Ethics of Sport, 2nd edn. Tor Stornes Discourse Society 2006; 17; 270 DOI: 10.1177/095792650601700208 The online version of this article can be found at: http://das.sagepub.com
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270 Discourse & Society 17(2) Chouliaraki, L. and Fairclough, N. (1999) Discourse in Late Modernity: Rethinking Critical Discourse Analysis. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. Christie, F. (2002) Classroom Discourse Analysis: A Functional Perspective. London: Continuum. Fairclough, N. (2000) New Labour, New Language? London: Routledge. Gregory, M. (1985) ‘Towards “Communication” Linguistics: A Framework’, in J. Benson and W.S. Greaves (eds) Systemic Perspectives on Discourse, Vol. 1. Norwood, NJ: Ablex. Wodak, R. (2001) ‘The Discourse Historical Approach’, in R. Wodak and M. Meyer (eds) Methods of Critical Discourse Analysis. London: Sage. Van Leeuwen, T. (1996) ‘The Representation of Social Actors’, in C.R. Caldas-Coulthard and M. Coulthard (eds) Texts and Practices: Readings in Critical Discourse Analysis. London: Routledge. Young, L. (1990) Language as Behaviour, Language as Code. Amsterdam: Benjamins.
Nicholas Marshall Tokyo Women’s Christian University, Japan Wendy L. Bowcher Tokyo Gakugei University, Japan
ROBERT L. SIMON, Fair Play: The Ethics of Sport, 2nd edn. Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 2004. 244 pp. ISBN 0–8133–7974–1 (pbk) $25, £16.99 Robert L. Simon, professor of philosophy at Hamilton College, USA, has been addressing important ethical issues in sport for many years. His latest work, Fair Play: The Ethics of Sport (2nd edn) is based on the content of the first edition of the book. However, this new edition incorporates significant changes from the earlier edition. This involves new chapters on the commercialization of sport and gender equity in sport as well as a revision of the chapter on intercollegiate athletics including more contemporary examples. Some chapters are also substantially revised. Together with chapters on sport as a mutual quest for excellence, sportsmanship, drugs and violence, sports on campus and sport values today, Simon approaches key ethical issues in a style that courts a broad audience. In general, Simon’s approach is to provide the reader with different relevant viewpoints to unsettled philosophical issues present in the debate about sport ethics in contemporary society. He then makes his judgement in a way that is nuanced and well supported by a thorough argumentation. Simon’s main argument in the book is that sport may be considered as ‘a mutual quest for excellence through worthy challenge’ (hereafter the MQE thesis). Athletic competition lies in overcoming the challenge given by worthy opponents, opponents playing to the best of their abilities within the rules of the game. ‘Worthy’ sports competitions arise when athletes cooperate in giving each other the best possible challenge. This principle is rooted in contract ethics that involves a mutual agreement among sport participants to perform at their highest level. The MQE thesis implies that ‘to win’ is different from just proving superior to
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Book reviews 271
others. Winning is neither necessary nor sufficient for athletic competitions. Athletic competitions involve a social contract to push each other in manners that make athletic improvement possible. The MQE thesis has been criticized because it reduces sport to a question of self-development or personal improvement, which may seem naïve and have little authenticity in contemporary competitive sport. From the reviewer’s point of view, however, the MQE thesis renders coaches, teachers, and others an important stand that may prevent sport from becoming an arena for egoistic and self-assertive behaviour. Since many of the behavioural problems prominent in sports today seem to stem from selfish attitudes and the pursuit of personal gain, the MQE thesis makes an important contribution to a re-evaluation of sport and its function in modern society. The different chapters are underpinned by the MQE thesis. As an example, in the chapter on performance-enhancing drugs in sport, Simon presents four main arguments against such use; i.e. ‘the harm principle’. Simon then makes an examination of these arguments by presenting important issues such as paternalism, fairness and respect for personhood. In this way he provides the reader with a comprehensive examination that undoubtedly gives grounds for the reader’s own reflection and assessments. As mentioned, Fair Play caters for readers of sport philosophy in general. However, in particular it deserves a place in the curriculum of different studies dealing with issues related to sport ethics. To most students, the content of this book will be easily accessible and comprehensible. Some chapters, however, need more basic knowledge within the field of philosophy to grasp the logic and argumentation given. It would have been beneficial if the author could have stated in the introductory part of the book which students or studies this book would be relevant for. To support his argumentation the author uses examples from sports events. In general these examples are gathered from sports especially popular in the USA. A foreign reader may not know some of these sports that well. This reviewer’s assessment of this book is definitely favourable and it is recommended to all readers interested in ethical issues and moral dilemmas in contemporary sport! Tor Stornes Centre for Behavioural Research, Faculty of Arts and Education University of Stavanger, Norway
MARCIA FARR (ed.), Ethnolinguistic Chicago: Language and Literacy in the City’s Neighborhoods. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum, 2004. xii + 400 pp. ISBN 0–8058–4345–6 $89.95 (hbk); ISBN 0–8058–4346–9 $39.95 (pbk) Ethnolinguistic Chicago is a diverse collection in terms of both methodologies and languages. Eight of the 13 content chapters are studies in discourse analysis.
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