Sport and authenticity

• Main Author: Miloš Bednář
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: University of Alicante 2014-07-01
• Series: Journal of Human Sport and Exercise
• Subjects: Authentic existence; Ethics of sport; Heidegger; Inauthenticity
• Online Access: https://www.jhse.ua.es/article/view/2014-v9-n1-sport-and-authenticity

This article focuses on the concept of authenticity as understood by Heidegger, Taylor, and Ferrara and its relationship to sport.  I divide Heidegger’s unusual terms (existentiales) from“Being and time” into the categories of authenticity and inauthenticity and provide examples of each from the field of sport. In further I analyse the ethical standpoint of authenticity which is in the centre of both ethical and sociological discourse today. Taylor´s conceptions of moral ideal and culture of authenticity are critically assessed. Ferrara´s models of authenticity appear to me as a good basis for various utilization in the area of sport. Finally, I argue for a mixed model of authenticity that includes both antagonistic and integrative elements.