Philosophy of Sport, or Philosophy of Physical Culture? An Experience from the Czech Republic: Philosophical Kinanthropology

Abstract

The terminological disunity in the usage of the terms 'sport' and 'physical culture' leads to controversy over their meanings. This study recapitulates their content (substance) in a broader sense than is usual in common usage and points out some possible philosophical connections. The first part focuses on an analysis of the terms: 'culture' and 'body' and their joining together to form the term 'physical culture'. The author first calls attention to other levels of human corporeality than sport and movement (such as hygiene, body aesthetics, eroticism, etc.), which show us that the implications of the term 'physical culture' is too broad. On the other hand, the term 'sport' is delimitated too narrowly, because the cultivation of human motion is a concern in school physical education and recreational physical exercise as well. The second part gives reasons for the use of the term 'kinanthropology' and allows us to grasp its philosophical conception as 'philosophical kinanthropology'.