ABSTRACT

Stories pervade sport. In elite spectator sport, stories play out in packed stadiums while being broadcast simultaneously to immense TV audiences. These stories, which present controversial goals, great comebacks, underdog victories, or clever instances of cheating among other incidents, can foster moral reflection. This paper explores the relationship between sport, stories, and morality. It discusses Richard Rorty’s insistence on narrative as a powerful vehicle to moral change and progress, as one way to understand this relationship. Stories about Justin Gatlin and Therese Johaug – two world-class athletes who tested positive for prohibited substances and served doping bans – are discussed as exemplars of redescriptive narratives: stories that can foster our moral imagination, broaden our conversations and help us to enhance our descriptions and practices of solidarity. In this Rortyan approach, moral progress can occur when the work of narrative redescription joins forces with philosophy’s rational struggle for coherence. Building on this conception of progress, the paper concludes with a reflection on narrative redescription as a method in sport ethics.

摘要

故事遍布运动。在精英观众的运动中，故事在拥挤的体育场内播放，同时向广大电视观众广播。这些故事提出了有争议的目标，伟大的复出，失败者的胜利或其他事件中作弊的聪明事例，可以促进道德反思。本文探讨了体育，故事和道德之间的关系。它讨论了理查德·罗蒂（Richard Rorty）对叙事的坚持，认为叙事是实现道德变化和进步的强大工具，是理解这种关系的一种方式。贾斯汀·加特林（Justin Gatlin）和特蕾丝·乔豪（Therese Johaug）的故事-这两名世界级运动员对违禁药物进行了阳性测试并实施了禁药-被作为重复描述性叙事的典范进行了讨论：可以激发我们道德想象力的故事，拓宽对话范围，帮助我们加强对团结的描述和实践。在这种罗特扬式的方法中，当叙事性重新描述的工作与哲学为争取连贯性而进行的理性斗争相结合时，道德进步就会发生。在这种进步观的基础上，本文最后对叙事性重新描述作为一种体育伦理学方法进行了反思。