ABSTRACT

In this paper I defend an Irreconcilability Thesis, claiming that two commonly held views about athletic contests are in fact incompatible. The first view is that athletic contests are essentially comparative tests of athletic skill. The second view is that the best contests are close contests. I take the second view to be true, hence I contend that the Irreconcilability Thesis shows that there is something wrong with the first view. I conclude by suggesting that the thesis has interesting implications regarding the value of winning an athletic contest, since that value cannot adequately be accounted for in terms of the athletic skill that yields victory.

摘要

在这篇论文中，我为一个不可调和的论文辩护，声称关于体育比赛的两种普遍持有的观点实际上是不相容的。第一种观点认为，竞技比赛本质上是对运动技能的比较测试。第二种观点认为最好的比赛是势均力敌的比赛。我认为第二种观点是正确的，因此我认为不可调和性命题表明第一种观点有问题。最后，我建议该论文对赢得体育比赛的价值具有有趣的影响，因为无法根据产生胜利的运动技能充分考虑该价值。