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Journal of the Philosophy of Sport

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Formulating, Testing, and Evaluating Principles ofMorality in Sport: An Overview of Robert L. Simon’sContributions to the Philosophy of Sport

Cesar R. Torres

To cite this article: Cesar R. Torres (2016) Formulating, Testing, and Evaluating Principles ofMorality in Sport: An Overview of Robert L. Simon’s Contributions to the Philosophy of Sport,Journal of the Philosophy of Sport, 43:1, 3-14, DOI: 10.1080/00948705.2015.1112238

To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00948705.2015.1112238

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Journal of the PhilosoPhy of sPort, 2016Vol. 43, no. 1, 3–14http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00948705.2015.1112238

Formulating, Testing, and Evaluating Principles of Morality in Sport: An Overview of Robert L. Simon’s Contributions to the Philosophy of Sport

Cesar R. Torres

Department of Kinesiology, sport studies, and Physical education, the College at Brockport, state university of new york, 350 new Campus Drive, Brockport, ny 14420-2989 usa

KEYWORDS robert l. simon; philosophy; sport; ethics; theory; contributions

It is an honor and a pleasure to offer an essay on Robert L. Simon’s vast range of contributions to the philosophy of sport over more than three decades. Such honor and pleasure are multiplied when one considers not only the stature of Simon’s prolific academic career but also his remarkable personal qualities. Professionally, one cannot ask for a better opportunity than ruminating on and exalting a corpus of fine scholarship accomplished by a fine person one esteems and knows. I do not exaggerate in affirming that this admiration and respect is collectively shared by the community of philosophers of sport. Look no further than J.S. Russell’s paper in this Festschrift in which he avows that ‘We are all in Simon’s debt. And not only for his intellectual contributions. He has set a won-derful scholarly example for members of an emerging discipline’.

There are many ways to organize an essay overviewing the contributions of a scholar as important as Simon over the course of an extended career. My preference here has been to organize the essay chronologically following the trajectory of the book through which Simon has conveyed his conception of sport as well as the principles for its normative examination. There are two rea-sons for this preference. First, Simon published the book immediately after his introduction to the philosophy of sport. Second, the subsequent editions of the book incorporated many of the ideas and analyses Simon published in various groundbreaking journal papers. To a large extent, the trajectory of the book parallels Simon’s trajectory in the philosophy of sport. Simon’s contributions to the latter though exceed the book’s evolving content and thus I have presented them but always respecting the chronology suggested by the book’s different editions. It is worth noting that my purpose here is to provide an overview of Simon’s rich engagement with the philosophy of sport rather than to critically assess it or to detail its subtleties. This is ably accomplished by the rest of the

© 2015 iaPs

CONTACT Cesar r. torres crtorres@brockport.edu

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papers in this Festschrift, which analyze different facets of his contributions to the philosophy of sport. By contextualizing Simon’s contributions within the larger disciplinary debates, these papers further highlight the significance and standing of such scholarship within the discipline. It is worth noting too that I have included multiple remarks advanced by several scholars on Simon’s work since the mid-1980s as it was being published. In retrospective, they point to Simon’s extraordinary influence in the philosophy of sport as much as the appro-priateness of this journal’s Festschrift.

I

Sports and Social Values (1985), Simon’s initial book examining conceptual and ethical questions in sport as well as ‘the principles thoughtful persons might appeal to when attempting to formulate answers’ (ix), originated during his 1981–1982 fellowship at the National Humanities Center. He acknowledged many of the fellows at this institution for their ‘willingness to discuss ethical issues in sport with me, although all of us were engaged in other projects at the time’ (x). His was on international justice. As mentioned to me in a personal communication, 5 March 2015, Simon told Prentice-Hall’s Ray o’Connell one breakfast during his fellowship the story about the reaction of his colleagues in the Department of Philosophy at Hamilton College to his view on winning (1–2). They briefly discussed the importance of winning and o’Connell said ‘Why don’t you write a book on that!’ Simon started working on Sports and Social Values in the spring of his fellowship year at the National Humanities Center. While working on several papers related to international justice, he also made steady progress on this project. Two years later, in July of 1984, Simon presented a paper at the annual conference of the Philosophic Society for the Study of Sport (PSSS), held in eugene, oregon, in conjunction with the olympic Scientific Congress (Meier 1984). Simon questioned the validity of a number of arguments typically used to prohibit the use of performance-enhancing drugs but rationalized a prohibition based on an ideal of competitive sport and the value of respect for persons. The paper was published in that year’s special section on the ethics of performance-enhancing drugs featured in this journal (Simon 1984a). In addi-tion, Simon was commissioned to prepare a formal response to the other two papers included in said special section (Simon 1984b). even more momentous, the following year, 1985, Sports and Social Values was published.

In addition to his novel analysis of the ethics of performance-enhancing drugs, the book offers a number of equally novel approaches to several con-ceptual and ethical issues in sport. one of the issues is the defense of athletic competition ‘as the mutual quest for excellence in meeting challenge’ (22). Simon had outlined his mutualistic approach to competition in his 1984 paper on performance-enhancing drugs but in the book the analysis is unpacked more fully, tracing it to Delattre’s (1975) reflections on competitive athletics. As

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an aside, it should be noted that giving full credit to scholars whose works have inspired his own analyses, is a constant in Simon’s work.

The book first articulates, defends, and applies an ethics of competition in sport that should regulate it, then focuses on ‘the rights and entitlements of participants’ (76), and ends with an exploration of the role of athletics on col-leges and universities. In the process, issues such as violence, excellence, merit, and sex equality in sport are debated. Those debates, in turn, allow Simon to introduce important notions, including the ‘vulnerability principle’ to answer the question of the justifiability of violence in sport and the two models of sex equality in sport, among others. The overarching argument of the book, as put by Simon, ‘is that sports raise a host of significant ethical issues’ and that ‘if we are to have good sports rather than bad ones, we need to reflect on the principles that govern our athletic institutions and practices’ (153).

The strengths of Simon’s project were duly noted. In his review of the book, Fairchild (1985) wrote that ‘The text is a first-rate development of an affirma-tive answer to the question of whether rational argument over ethical issues is even possible’ and observed that ‘Among the many strengths of the book is Simon’s consistently fine job of drawing careful logical distinctions and work-ing within the parameters of those distinctions as he develops his substantive positions’ (78). This did not mean that Simon’s elaborations went unchallenged. For instance, Fairchild objected to a number of Simon’s positions. However, even those who were critical of the book, acknowledged its strengths. Murray (1986), for whom the book lacked historical contextualization, said that ‘Some of his discussion on competition, drugs, winning, and so forth, is quite good’ (276). Likewise, Friedman (1986), who thought that ‘sport appears to have nothing peculiar and characteristic to teach the philosopher at all’ (886), a declaration that Simon along with probably the overwhelming majority of philosophers of sport would certainly dispute, admitted that ‘Simon’s discussions are fair-minded and judicious’ and ‘are on the whole quite balanced’ (887). As the reviews clearly attest, the book and its later transformations would not go unnoticed.

II

In 1987, Simon became the head coach of the men’s varsity golf team at Hamilton College, a position he held until 2000. However, he has stayed actively involved with the team since 2001, serving as an assistant coach. Coaching surely provided him ample opportunities to keep pondering ethical issues in sport. Indeed, Simon thanked his players ‘for letting me try out some theories in practice’ (1991, xi). It would be interesting to know what they thought about his theory to practice efforts! While teaching full loads, publishing in other areas of philosophy, coaching, and attending almost every basketball game played by the men’s and women’s teams both at Hamilton College and the Clinton Central School, Simon thoroughly revised and expanded Sports and Social Values. The

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book, retitled Fair Play: Sports, Values, and Society, was published by Westview Press in 1991. The book’s changes are too numerous to discuss in any detail in this overview. However, among the most notable figure extensive analyses of fair play, sportspersonship, and cheating. It is in this context that Simon intervened in and reinvigorated the debate over the ethics of the intentional foul, putting forward the idea that penalties in sport could be seen as either sanctions for pro-hibited acts or prices for the execution of a strategic option. He also contended that the notion of a ‘fair price’ might help in distinguishing the two.

In other sections of the book, Simon bolstered his case for the mutualist con-ception of competition, which is at the core of his argumentation, and adjusted, responding to critics, the chapter on the ethics of performance-enhancing drugs. Perhaps reflecting his recently assumed coaching responsibilities, he included a new chapter exploring the relationship between sport and moral values, and the role that sport can play in moral education broadly understood but with an emphasis on formal educational settings. Within this exploration, Simon argued that sport has an ‘inner morality’, a set of normative features ‘that all competitive athletes have strong reason to commend and act upon themselves’ (191). one sees in this notion the rudiments of a theory of sport he would present almost a decade later with the label ‘broad internalism’, a theory that would significantly influence how sport and its moral foundations are conceived.

Reactions to the revised and expanded book were positive. Boxill (1993) explained that the book ‘goes far beyond that first edition. Simon has rewritten most of the chapters, and he has included original chapters focused on the new title, fair play’ (188). Boxill also saw a welcome practical import, or ‘social impact’ as institutions of higher education would say nowadays, in Simon’s book. For her, ‘Simon not only addresses the problems, he provides some solutions, many of which follow from his conception of sport as a mutual quest for excellence through challenge’ (190). Hofacre (1992) also noticed the relevance of his mutu-alist approach to competition, which ‘provides the underpinning for a look at specific issues’ (232). The same goes for Livingston (1994), who said that ‘Simon uses this ideal model [of competition] as the standard for moral evaluation of a number of real-life issues’ (244). I mention this convergence in the reviews because they point not only to the pull of Simon’s mutualist view on competi-tion but also to the shared perception that the book presented a unitary and comprehensive vision of the morality of sport. unlike its predecessor, the book did not seem to command challenges to Simon’s elaborations, perhaps a sign of approval to his revisions and expansions. By contrast, reviewers replicated the praise for his analytical approach bestowed in assessments of the book’s predecessor. Livingston commended that ‘Throughout, Simon’s analysis is fair-minded and thorough’ (244). Another point to highlight that reflects the wide-spread approval of the book is that reviewers recommended it for inclusion in both upper-division undergraduate and graduate courses, and suggested it was also appropriate for individuals without much background in philosophy,

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‘although [for them it might be] a bit difficult to get through in certain places’ (Hofacre 1992, 233). This last point could be seen as a strength as well, for as Simon argues in the preface of the book, ‘Philosophical questions force us to stretch our analytical powers to the fullest’ (x).

In the years ensuing the publication of Fair Play: Sports, Values, and Society, Simon continued stretching his analytical powers through the examination of many of the philosophical questions posed by sport. In the 1993–1994 issue of this journal, which celebrated its twentieth anniversary, he served as guest editor of a ‘Special Symposium on Gender equity and Inequity in Sports’, composed of three contributions. Simon’s was, as put by Meier (1993–1994), then editor of this journal, ‘an encompassing paper delineating, with a great deal of care and vigor, the range of philosophical issues underlying the entire topic’ (3). Although Simon (1993–1994) explored these issues by focusing on intercollegiate athletics in the united States, his analysis certainly had broader application. A central concern of Simon’s paper was the criteria to determine whether an institution’s men’s and women’s athletic programs are equitable. Not least because of his continuing contributions to the literature, Simon was elected president of PSSS for the 1998–1999 term, soon to be known as the International Association for the Philosophy of Sport (IAPS). In his presidential address, delivered in 1999 in Bedford, england, and published the following year in this journal, Simon (2000) presented a groundbreaking examination of internalist accounts of sport and enunciated his celebrated theory of broad internalism. Through it he explicated that ‘sport has a kind of internal ethic, what might be called an internal morality of sport’ (2) composed of norms and principles strongly connected to the notion of competition that are neither formal rules nor social conventions of sport. Simon further argued that models inspired in Ronald Dworkin’s conception of jurisprudence are the most apt to explain this set of norms or principles because it is derived appealing to the best interpretation of sport and its key features. He claimed that such efforts reflect an ‘interpretive version of broad internal-ism’, calling its proponents ‘interpretivists’ (8 and 9). Since Simon’s presidential address, ‘sport philosophers engaged in interpretative efforts, have generally been regarded as working within the tenets of interpretivism’ (Torres 2012, 301). In another paper published a few years after his presidential address, Simon (2003) mounted a cogent case for the significance of sport as a medium to transmit moral values because of its ‘basic ethic of meeting challenges within a mutually acceptable framework of rules and the principles they presuppose is a constant’ (26).

Many of the ideas presented in these three papers were included in the sec-ond edition of Fair Play, whose new subtitle was changed to The Ethics of Sport, published in 2004. Indeed, Simon based the chapter discussing sportsperson-ship, fair play, and cheating on his presidential address. As he explicated, the chapter ‘introduces and evaluates various approaches to understanding the nature of sport and assesses the significance of each approach to ethics’ (x).

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Similarly, the chapter on gender equity in sport featured a longer and detailed analysis of Title IX of the education Amendments of 1972, a united States’ law prohibiting discrimination based on sex in education programs assisted by the federal government. other chapters were supplemented with new examples and/or material. of note was the inclusion of a new chapter on the commer-cialization of sport in which Simon suggested that ‘commercialization is not always harmful on balance’ and that proper governance ‘has the potential to reduce significantly the conflict between commercialization and the integrity of competitive sport’ (196).

unsurprisingly, the new edition of the book received much acclaim. Holowchak (2004) prefaced his review stating that Simon ‘has been advanc-ing philosophy of sport for numerous years’ (245) and declared that his ‘overall assessment of this second edition is quite favorable’ (247). using a similar tone, Stornes (2006) stated that Simon ‘has been addressing important ethical issues in sport for many years’ and declared that ‘This reviewer’s assessment of this book is definitely favorable’ (271). Needless to say, there were areas of disagree-ment but even when offering critical comments, reviewers noted Simon’s careful construction of arguments. Thus, while Butler (2004) maintained that Simon did not notice recent developments in sociological theories that would question the notion that sport has an inner morality, she admitted that ‘The entire structure of the book is woven together skillfully to draw the reader through the process of building sound ethical arguments on morals in sport’ (479). This last point was also highlighted by Holowchak who said that ‘The manner of exposition throughout is articulate, intelligent, and crisp’ (2004, 245). Holowchak summa-rized Simon’s philosophical practice and acumen as well as the value of the book in a passage that is worth quoting in its entirety:

Simon approaches differences of philosophical opinion on unsettled ethical issues with the same openness, honesty, and fairness that MQe [the thesis that sport is a mutual quest for excellence in the face of physical challenge] demands of fully integrated athletic competitors. This shows that Simon’s own practice of the phi-losophy of sport is itself driven by the very normative constraints implied by his MQe thesis. And this, I believe, is the selling point of the book. (247)

Whatever disagreements scholars might have had with Simon’s conclusions, by the turn of the century his meticulous argumentation and balanced tenor as much as his contributions to further the debate in numerous areas of the philosophy of sport were widely acknowledged by his peers. His reputation as a leading figure in the philosophy of sport was formally recognized when the membership of IAPS voted Simon one of two recipients of the association’s 2004 Distinguished Scholar Award for their outstanding contribution to the disciplinary literature. The other was Bernard Suits. How fitting that these two pillars of the philosophy of sport were granted this honor at the same time! I was then the chair of IAPS’s Honors, Awards, and Future Sites Committee and had the privilege to inform the auspicious news to both of them.

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Despite being awarded the IAPS’s Distinguished Scholar Award in 2004, some of Simon’s most exciting scholarship was yet to come. In the following years, he published a series of noteworthy papers either addressing topics new to him or presenting new vistas on topics he had already addressed. In two of these papers (2008 and 2009), Simon continued exploring an issue dear to him: the relationship between intercollegiate athletics and academic values. Read together, they ‘disentangle and identify the sometimes unacknowledged nor-mative assumptions that also underlie much of the discussion’ (2008, 41) around this relationship. Furthermore, in these two papers, Simon defended the notion that intercollegiate athletics and academics are in some contexts mutually rein-forcing, and identified areas of research that if pursued would provide a fuller assessment of the relationship between intercollegiate athletics and academic values. In a third paper, which was published in Spanish, Simon (2006) posed a number of questions related to soccer in order to discuss larger axiological and ethical issues in sport: (a) whether athletic competition is defensible and how much importance should be given to winning, (b) whether moral debate should be ethnocentric, and (c) whether sport can play a role in moral education. Working from previous analyses but extending them, the paper made some of the central concerns in Simon’s work available to a new audience.

A fourth paper (2004b) intervenes in the debate over the nature of moral justification in the philosophy of sport. Simon charted a course between ethno-centrists, who emphasize the social and historical context in which agreement arises among members of a practice community, and realists, who emphasize that reasoned inquiry is the linchpin of moral justification. Such course, based on discourse ethics, is what he called ‘justificatory realism’, which contends that moral discourse gains justificatory force when participants in debate critically and reflectively appraise their own arguments and those of others on their intellectual merits. Although Simon coined the term justificatory realism in 2004, he has been practicing it with distinction for quite a long time. His 2005 paper on the ethics of the intentional foul is a clear example of this.

In the paper, Simon replied to Warren P. Fraleigh’s outright condemnation of deliberately and overtly fouling opponents expecting and willingly accepting the corresponding penalty to obtain a strategic advantage. Simon acknowl-edged that Fraleigh sharpened the debate but doubted that strategic fouling is always morally problematic. Indeed, for him, in specific contexts, ‘the judicious use of preventive strategic fouls can be morally appropriate’ (94). In the final paper of this period, which originated in his Warren P. Fraleigh Distinguished Scholar Lecture, Simon (2007) engaged with a numbers of scholars to reflect on the role of luck and desert in sport. His conclusion is that luck does not neces-sarily spoil contests and can even enhance appreciation for skillful performance. He also concluded ‘that attempts to expunge the idea of desert (and claims of merit based on it) from sports by appeal to natural-lottery-type arguments should be viewed skeptically’ (24).

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Several of the insights advanced in the papers published from 2004 to 2009 were incorporated in the third edition of Fair Play, which now kept the subti-tle The Ethics of Sport, published in 2010. For instance, as Simon explained in the preface, the discussion of the issues surrounding intercollegiate athletics was expanded and the investigation of the ethics of the intentional foul now included Fraleigh’s critique of the arguments presented in previous editions of the book as well as his own response to them. Simon also increased the section looking at Suits’ definition of games ‘and its influence on the philosophy of sport, and [provided] a fuller discussion of the alleged link between participa-tion in sports and moral development’ (x). In addition, other significant changes included a debate over the effect that the use of performance-enhancing drugs might have on the legitimacy of sport records and an extended examination of the arguments for and against allowing genetic enhancement in sport. By the time of its third edition, the book was a staple in both philosophical circles and classrooms in higher education, and the renewed praise it gathered came naturally. Joseph (2011) summarized not only the trajectory of the book but also the reception of its latest version. He wrote that ‘Simon’s previous editions of the text were aptly suited for their time, and the present one is no different’ adding that ‘readers both familiar and unfamiliar with previous editions of Fair Play will be encouraged to reflect on important ethical issues within sport’ (87). equally telling of the book’s status are the closing remarks of Joseph’s review:

Finally, each edition of this book was separated by years of thoughtfulness and built-up experiences of the subject matter. All these are reflected in the topics that Simon introduces in each edition. Without hesitation, I recommend this book as a teaching tool and self-study guide to those involved in sport, ethics, and education. (92)

III

In the last few years, Simon embarked on different scholarly projects. He recently published two papers (2015 and 2014a) analyzing the tenets and logic of dif-ferent theories available to explain sport and its relation to morality as well as their potential and challenges. Both papers addressed the latest critiques to broad internalism. In a third paper, Simon problematized three aspects of Jenkins’ (2014a) ‘insightful account of issues arising from the activity of coaching golf and providing graduate education of future golf coaches’ (Simon 2014b, 813). yet, a more ambitious endeavor, combining his passion for philosophy and coaching sport, specifically golf, was the publication in 2013 of a provoc-ative edited collection entitled The Ethics of Coaching Sports: Ethical, Social and Legal Issues. According to Simon, the collection, broad in scope, ‘examines the role and responsibility of the coach and ethical issues that arise in the prac-tice of coaching, as well as some of the legal issues’ (ix). His hope was to shed light on these issues ‘but also help coaches to analyze, understand, and react

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appropriately to the many ethical issues that arise in their coaching endeavors’ (xi). Simon demonstrated that his qualities as an editor matched his qualities as an author, which is no small accomplishment. The reviews of the collection testified to this. For example, Murray (2014), noting that Fair Play: The Ethics of Sport ‘set a high standard within the philosophy of sport literature’, celebrated that ‘We are fortunate that Simon has chosen to turn his keen attention toward editing what turns out to be a fascinating set of essays’ (276). After offering valid suggestions and observations, Murray stated that ‘My conclusion is predicta-ble. I highly recommend this fine collection’ (280). Sometimes the predictable is quite pleasing. other scholars also highlighted the virtues of the book and endorsed it. Pfleegor (2014) remarked that it ‘is a judiciously developed and edited book that could be effective for use in a variety of sport related courses’ (91). Jenkins (2014b) agreed arguing that ‘The book has been very well edited’ and ‘can be recommended to all serious coaches, especially those in collegiate sport … [and to] upper-level and postgraduate modules in sports ethics and coaching’ (253–254). Lastly, Wagner (2013) agreed that ‘The book is organized effectively’ (247) and that the essays ‘enable the reader to consider alternative perspectives in the pursuit of an ethical coaching practice’ (249). It is obvious that with this edited collection, Simon offered another respected addition to the philosophy of sport literature.

Readers of this overview are most probably aware that the fourth edition of Fair Play: The Ethics of Sport was made available in the fall of 2014 with a 2015 publication date. early in october of 2012, Peter F. Hager and I received an e-mail from Simon inviting us to revise and co-author a new edition of the book. It was a surprise and a distinct honor. Having just finished The Ethics of Coaching Sports: Ethical, Social and Legal Issues, Simon was reluctant to take on the project and his editor at Westview Press suggested considering working with co-authors. In his initial e-mail, Simon said he knew we would work well together. The following month, on 7 and 8 November, Hager and I spent two days at Hamilton College with Simon strategizing the book’s revision. A year later, we sent the revised manuscript to the publisher and in April of 2014 we went over page proofs. Simon was right, the trio did work well together.

As described in the preface, the new edition preserved the major approaches and lines of argumentation crafted by Simon in previous editions, but it also introduced significant changes. one was that we made explicit earlier in the text the theoretical framework, broad internalism and competitive mutualism, which facilitated its application in the rest of the book. Another was the expansion of broad internalism itself to include both ethical and esthetic criteria. A third significant addition was the examination of recent defenses of antirealist the-ories of sport. Finally, we also included ethical issues in youth sports and sport spectating. However, what I would like to highlight most here is that by having the privilege to work closely with Simon on this project, I had the immense for-tune to experience directly what I have heard about him in philosophy of sport

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circles since my days as a graduate student: Simon is a consummate academic but more important he is a warm, generous, caring, collegial, and principled person with a great sense of humor who is fully capable of laughing at himself. By now, I have heard similar also from family members, colleagues, and friends as well as former students and athletes. And yes, he is that enthusiastic about golf!

IV

Back in 1966, when Simon was a graduate student, Paul Weiss, who was elected as PSSS’s first president in 1972, told Robert Lipsyte that ‘Sport can be dealt with in the same seriousness of inquiry that has been given to philosophy of art, politics, history or ethics by philosophers in the past’ (The New York Times, May 15, 1969). Simon took Weiss’ exhortation to heart and for more than three dec-ades he has been dealing with the philosophy of sport in the same seriousness he has dealt with political, moral, and social philosophy. Through his scholar-ship, determination, and leadership, he has been one of those indispensable individuals that has transformed the philosophy of sport into a mature and burgeoning discipline. I hope this overview serves as an introduction to the new understandings, vistas, and insights Simon has brought on a wide array of topics as well as their impact within the philosophy of sport. As just one meas-ure of the latter, consider that since Simon made his publishing disciplinary debut (1984a), his work at the time of this writing (August of 2015) has been referenced in 42 out of 47 issues of this journal. That is 89.36% of the issues! It is hardly surprising then that Simon’s work is regularly featured in disciplinary anthologies. even more remarkable, and difficult to quantify, is the exceptional influence that his scholarly contributions and academic career have had in the development and present contours of the philosophy of sport – or to put it differently, in the augmentation of the disciplinary body of knowledge and agenda. Fortunately, more stimulating and illuminating work is to come: Simon is working on a manuscript for oxford university Press designed to bring ethical reflection in sport to broader audiences. His aspiration, first expressed in 1985, that people ‘formulate, test, and evaluate fundamental principles of morality’ in sport (Simon 1985, x) remains intact, which surely means to deal with sport in the utmost seriousness of inquiry.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

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