Agon Motif Research Articles

The Agon Motif: Redux. A Study of the Contest Element in Sport

Abstract The contest element of modern sport has its ancient roots in the “agon” of early Greek life. We begin with an overview of the material and historical continuities in the social development of sport, followed by a discussion of our suppositions regarding the original linkage of sport and war in terms of what we call “the agon motif”, and conclude with speculations about residuals of the agon motif in modern sport. We argue it is important to recognize that notwithstanding of the many transitions and transformations in the social development of sport since the agon of Homeric and Hellenic Greek cultures there are notable, long-standing, material and historical continuities in the structure of sport and the ethos of agonal contests. To better depict the relationships between the concepts of sport and contest, we highlight these vestiges of agon. We employ the phrase “the agon motif” to embrace both the concept of “agon”and the concept of “aethlos”. In a structural sense the agon motif refers to the overall properties, processes, and products of agonal competition, including contestants, spectators, battle grounds, sporting venues, festivals and spectacles, prizes and award ceremonies. Whereas, in an ideational sense, the agon motif refers to the ethos of chivalric competition associated with the pursuit of prestige (status-honor) and the active quest to achieve excellence (bodily and moral) through physical prowess in agonal contests wherein individuals place their reputation, moral character, and at times, their very lives at stake. There is a close link to the cult of masculinity and masculine domination in the Western world, since the primary avenues of pursuing the agon motif through war and sport are two of the most highly and rigidly “gendered” activities in the history of humankind. We suggest that the most fundamental dynamic of the agon motif as well as the most enduring residual of the agon motif in modern sport is the pursuit of prestige, honor and excellence through physical prowess. The ethical framework of archaic (heroic) agon represents the epitome of a morality of honor and an ethics of virtue and offers a largely unfamiliar picture from a contemporary viewpoint of winning and losing in sport.

The Agon Motif and the Concept of Movement Culture

Abstract At a symposium on 12 June 2009 on “Homo Movens: International symposium on movement culture” at the occasion of my ‘rite of passage’ to the emeritus status at the KU Leuven, John W. Loy, co-authored by W. Robert Morford, presented a paper on “The agon motif: A study of the contest element in sport”. I am very glad that this excellent paper will finally be published as it was not included in “The making of sport history: Disciplines, identities and the historiography of sport” (Delheye 2014), which appeared five years later as a so called “…crystallization of the international symposium.” (p. XVII). Moreover, some of these contributions were severely criticized by Allen Guttmann (2014). In this introduction, I will try to clarify the concepts of ‘ludodiversity’ and ‘movement culture’, which I have often had the chance to discuss with John Loy personally. We did – of course – not always agree but this kind of ‘joking relationship’ with John Loy was and still is for me a “… joy forever”!

Outline of Mimesis, Honor and Dignity in Modern Sport: A Commentary

Abstract When reading the masterpiece about “The Agon Motif” by John W. Loy and W. Robert Morford (2019), I was struck by their recurrent reference to the pursuit of honor in agonal sport contests, as it has become common sense to replace honor with dignity in modernity. I take the German social-philosopher Axel Honneth (1995) as a prime example of spelling out the replacement of honor with dignity in what he names “the struggle for recognition”. In a historical perspective, however, it looks like, that dignity can be understood as a distribution of honor rather than as an oppositional concept of honor. Recognition should not only be conceptualized at the categorical level, but also understood in terms of ‘comparative recognition’, which sorts members of a group into an intra-group hierarchy based on their relative merits and, thereby, pave the way for self-esteem (Mark, 2014). Furthermore, Honneth (2008) develops his concept of recognition to a two-level one by including a primordial recognition in terms of mimesis based upon his former concept of basic self-confidence. It is a kind of elementary responsiveness, which always and necessarily contains an element of involuntary openness or devotedness in the bodily-affective sphere. Therefore, I suggest taking mimesis as the precondition of honor into account and understanding dignity as a distribution of honor in the institution of modern sport.

‘No small counsel about self-control’: <i>Enkrateia</i> and the virtuous body as missional performance in 2 Clement

The question this article addresses is how the encratic, virtuous body in 2 Clement ‘speaks itself’ as a missional performance. It is in essence concerned with the discourses of corporeal virtuosity in 2 Clement. Firstly, the agon motif (2 Clem 7:1−6; 20:1−4) is discussed since it forms the basis metaphor for the understanding of ancient virtue-formation. Secondly, 2 Clement’s encratic technologies of soul and flesh as an extension and overamplification, respectively, of the body are examined (2 Clem 9:1−11). In the third instance, the proliferation of visible technologies of the body in 2 Clement are brought into perspective with special emphasis on these technologies as strategies of andromorphism, a crucial element in the understanding of virtue in antiquity (2 Clem 12:1−6). Fourthly, 2 Clement also links concepts of holiness and the pneumatic dimension of spirituality in its argumentation (2 Clem 14:1−5). This needs to be understood in the light of corporeal virtuosity. Finally, the concepts of suffering (2 Clem 19:3−4), martyrdom (2 Clem 5:1−7) and the apocalyptic anti-spectacle (2 Clem 17:1−7) are central in 2 Clement’s formulations of the missional performance and are therefore clarified. The intersection of these discourses is where the virtuous body in 2 Clement speaks itself as a missional performance. The study concludes by looking at the implications of the findings for understanding early Christian missionality.

1 Korintiërs 9:24-27 – Kerklike leierskap vra ‘n besondere vorm van selfbeheersing

The purpose of this article is to describe Paul’s self-control in 1 Corinthians 9 as an example to contemporary church leaders. After ascertaining the framework of 1 Corinthians 8:1 to 11:1 as following Christ in loving servitude, Paul’s introducing of his apostleship is described as a combination of an example and a defense. He utilizes the agon motif to make his point regarding his own sacrifices. To him self-control enkrateia) has a finite meaning: to relinquish certain liberties and rights for the sake of his mission in Christ, the identity of the church and the perseverance of his fellow believers. Church leaders can take heed of this necessity for restriction of personal liberty in response to the views of others.

Agony in education: the importance of struggle in the process of learning

Acknowledgments Introduction Tyranny of Technology Struggle and Civility The Agon Motif Agonism in Education Transcendence and Technology Ciphering the Schools A Note about Narcissism Agon and Motivation Imagery of Agony Agon and Creativity Agon and Athletic Imagery Agon and Military Metaphors Experiential Education A Modest Proposal: Agonic Curriculum Bibliography Index

Paul and the Agon Motif: Traditional Athletic Imagery in the Pauline Literature

Paul and the Agon Motif: Traditional Athletic Imagery in the Pauline Literature