Philosophy of Sport in Latin America

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to explore the evolution of the philosophical analysis of sport in Latin America from the nineteenth century to the present. To do so, this paper identifies the main themes and the leading works that emerged throughout this period as well as their relation to regional philosophical traditions. Likewise, to situate the philosophical analysis of sport in Latin America in a broader per spective, this paper makes reference to its relation to the philosophy of sport in parts of the English-speaking world and the Iberian Peninsula (Portugal and Spain). This paper also includes an account of the character and extent of philosophical thinking in relation to sport in contemporary Latin America and speculations about the future of the discipline in the region. Given the contested nature of the notion “Latin America,” this article starts with a brief discussion of its history and meaning. This is followed by a brief account of the historical underpinnings and cultural connotations of sport in the region in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. All of this is necessary to contextualize the regional evolution of the philosophy of sport and to bring conceptual clarity to the analysis. In this regard, the intension and extension of the notion “philosophy of sport” as used in this article are also briefly discussed. Finally, it is important to clarify that the article follows the chronological development of the philosophy of sport in North America proposed by R. Scott Kretchmar. Kretchmar (26) identifies three periods in this development: the first (1875-1950) was influenced by concerns in the philosophy of education, the second (1950-1965) by competing philosophical systems, and the third (1965-1995) by the attempt to establish a specific field of inquiry based on the research methods of philosophy. Kretchmar’s chronology is useful for comparative purposes, and most important, to establish the unique trajectory of the philosophy of sport in Latin America.