Emanuele Isidori

The referee as educator: hermeneutical and pedagogical perspectives.

Abstract Nowadays, in contemporary sports studies scarce attention is devoted to studying the referee and his/her functions in light of the philosophical and pedagogical approach. For this reason, the main aim of this study is to use a hermeneutical philosophic methodology to reflect on the role and functions of this figure, and to show his or her importance in preserving the intrinsic values of sport in front of youth and society. Starting with a historical analysis of the referee and the sport judge in ancient Greek athletics, this study will highlight how such this important figure has always been a key element of competitive sport. This study will demonstrate that refereeing is a practice that needs a specific set of hermeneutical skills and the development of complex pedagogical knowledge and ways of acting. It will also define the concept of “refereeing” in light of a pedagogical approach demonstrating that this practice is, fundamentally, a communicative action implying an ethical and hermeneutical dimension of the referee as a critical-reflective professional committed to enforcing sport’s rules and values. In conclusion, the study will stress the importance of looking at referees and sport judges not as a mere technicians and evaluators of performances in competitions but as educators whose specific knowledge must be developed in all of the courses for their training and education.

Deconstructing Sport: When Philosophy and Education Meet in Derrida's Thought

Deconstructing Sport: When Philosophy and Education Meet in Derridas Thought Jacques Derrida (1930-2004), master of the deconstructionist method and recognized as one of the greatest thinkers of our time, was in his youth, before beginning his career as a philosopher, a footballer who played this game with the Italian prisoners in Algiers, his birthplace, during World War II. In a 1991 interview, when he was 60, Derrida narrated in detail his childhood dream of becoming a professional football player, confiding that all of his philosophy and thought had been inspired by sport and the game of football. Starting from this biographical note, the aim of my study is to demonstrate, first of all, how Derridas whole philosophy and technique of deconstruction really has its roots in the concept of sport. The French-Algerian philosopher understood sport as a cultural structure based on the concepts of play, game, body, rules, and all of the oppositional pairs deriving from différance and from the tensions it generates. Secondly, the study tries to show how sport is for Derrida a metaphor of life and its meaning, suspended between being and nothingness; a place and a field in which human beings act, learn and educate themselves, deconstructing, as in a text, the values and prejudices of their lives and understanding, through sport itself, their roles and responsibility toward themselves and the community in which they live.

A ORIGEM ESPORTIVA DA DEMOCRACIA: UMA ABORDAGEM FILOSÓFICA

This paper takes a hermeneutical perspective to argue that sport is a useful pedagogical tool for liberal-democratic societies. To do so, we first look into the controversial issue of whether sport is a serious activity linked to the larger society and its values. Second, we argue that sports have been closely connected to serious societal aspects since ancient times. Third, we relate the origins of both politics and philosophy to several forces and attitudes. Fourth, we show that such forces and attitudes are still at the core of contemporary sports. In conclusion, we advocate that sports can be used to improve liberal-democratic societies.

A Pioneer of Italian Sports Pedagogy and Philosophy

Abstract The biography we present here in this issue of our journal refers to the story of Italian scholar, educationist, and philosopher, Emanuele Isidori, Vice-Rector for International Relations and Cooperation and head of the Laboratory of General and Sport Pedagogy of the Foro Italico University of Rome in Italy. The biography of Emanuele tells us the story of a pioneer both in sports pedagogy and sports philosophy in his home country of Italy, where the idealist tradition and some prejudices regarding sport and its science seem to have hindered the development process of the two subjects for many years. What emerges from this story is the commitment and strenuous effort of the scholar to develop sports humanities in his country and to help his university and other Italian researchers interested in the scholarly field develop their knowledge through collaboration with the most prestigious European institutions devoted to the study of sport and physical activity.

Adolescencia y estilo de vida. Estudio del ocio de los escolares de la provincia de Roma

El presente estudio trata de descubrir las practicas que experimentan los adolescentes en su tiempo libre. El interes social que despiertan los comportamientos efectuados durante la adolescencia, radica en que nos permiten aportar conocimiento acerca del estilo de vida que se lleva a cabo en el tiempo libre. De aqui que el objetivo de la investigacion sea conocer las practicas de ocio realizadas, asi como las deseadas, de los adolescentes italianos de la provincia de Roma, descubriendo ademas posibles elementos que puedan estar asociados a estos comportamientos. Para tal fin se ha optado por la utilizacion de una metodologia cuantitativa de tipo descriptiva e inferencial, empleando como instrumento de medida el cuestionario mACOFYD que fue suministrado a un total de 2401 escolares romanos de Educacion Secundaria de primer grado. Entre los resultados obtenidos se destaca que las actividades fisico-deportivas son elegidas y deseadas por la mayor parte de los escolares analizados; practicas que estan estrechamente vinculadas con el nivel de estudios de los progenitores. Las conclusiones del estudio subrayan el vinculo descubierto entre los adolescentes romanos y sus comportamientos fisico-deportivos, asi como la enorme difusion que tienen las practicas de caracter tecnologico en la vida de los adolescentes.

Philosophy of Sport Education: Main Issues and Methodology

Abstract The aim of this study is to reflect upon the main issues of the so-called philosophy of sport education, showing its methodologies and possible use in the context of sport studies. This study will begin answering two of the main questions dealing with the issues of the philosophy of sport education, that is: what are sport and its values from an educational philosophical perspective and how can we put these values into practice through a practical methodology? The study will show that the philosophy of sport education is a human science capable of developing both a theoretical and practical knowledge very useful for physical education teachers, sport educators, athletes, and coaches. The aim of this philosophical science is to analyze and understand sport in order to give it an educational and hermeneutical sense: that is, interpreting and not merely describing sport and its complex problems, and trying to find a solution in light of a pedagogical perspective and through a reflexive methodology of intervention.

Sport and Philosophy of Hospitality: Three Questions on How to Rethink Contemporary Sport Education in Light of Gift and Peace

Abstract The ancient Olympic Games were held in spaces and places consecrated for hospitality, to xénia, a Greek word that means “gifts” but also something that refers to and belongs to strangers and foreigners. Foreigners from every part of Greece met in Olympia to celebrate the agón. In this place, a stranger or a foreigner (hostis in Latin), probably a former enemy, became a friend because he was both guest and host (hospes in Latin) in the sanctuary-town, which belonged to the gods and to all of the Greeks, who recognized themselves in its spirit. This mechanism of hospitality formed the basis of the Olympic peace system and was the fundamental prerequisite for the celebration of agón. The practice of the agón was therefore made possible by a “gift” but also by “for-giveness” that allowed people to meet and compete. We can conclude that at the base of the Olympic (and Greek) ethics there was the concept of hospitality. Olympia was then the common home of all Greeks, the place where ethics were carried out, were put into practice, and concretely exercised. It is not a pure coincidence that the Greek word “ethics” is linked to the word éthos, which means “house”, “home”. For this reason, ethics can be thought as the art of hosting somebody in our own home and trusting him/her, just as it happened in ancient Olympia during the Olympic Games, which demonstrated that ethics was always a home’s ethics. Therefore, taking into account this cultural and philosophical framework, this study will develop a methodological approach, derived from deconstructionism, which will be applied to concepts that are both ambiguous and semantically rich in meaning, such as “gift”, “forgiveness”, xénos, hostis, and hospes. The first objective of this study is to reflect upon the connection between “gift” and “sport” and show the deep interconnection between the two concepts. The second is to use the model of Greek hospitality at the Olympic Games to deeply rethink sport and contemporary philosophy of sport education in terms of peace and multiculturalism.