Digital technology plays an important role in the everyday lives of people. New types of ‘digital sports’, (sport) gaming, exergaming, cybersport and eSports increase in popularity all over the world and are even challenging the modern and hegemonic concept of sport. Modern games can hardly be compared with the first generation of electronic games, as the diversity of games has increased dramatically.
Philosophers (of sport) have much to say about these new forms of digital play. This book bridges the gap between ‘game studies’ and current topics within the philosophy of sport literature. It does so by dealing with a variety of topics in which the virtual or the electronic takes over, contradicts or melts with current sports as we know it. This book deals with a variety of conceptual and moral questions, such as: Can video games and eSports be considered as sports activities or not? Are motor skills a defining characteristic of eSports? Can the personal identity be explored within the virtual world? What is happening in a virtual (game) world? How playful is a virtual environment? How do moral standards change in a digital game and how does the game-person and role-playing relate to the real person?
This book was originally published as a special issue of Sport, Ethics and Philosophy.
Introduction Ivo van Hilvoorde
Virtual Domains for Sports and Games Jason Holt
Embodiment and fundamental motor skills in eSports Ivo van Hilvoorde and Niek Pot
Broadband and circuits: The place of public gaming in the history of sport Kalle Jonasson
What kind of an activity is a virtual game? A Postmodern approach in relation to concept of Phantasm by Deleuze and the philosophy of Huizinga Barış Şentuna and Dinçer Kanbur
Personal identity and the Massively Multiplayer Online World Andrew Edgar
Will robots ever play sports? Francisco Javier Lopez Frias and Jose Luis Perez Triviño
An Earthless World: The Contemporary Enframing of Sport In Digital Games Steven Conway
The Defining Components of the Cyborg: Cyborg-Athletes, Fictional or Real? Francisco Javier Lopez Frias
Biography
Ivo van Hilvoorde (1968) is Professor at the School of Human Movement and Sport, Windesheim University of Applied Sciences, Zwolle, the Netherlands, and Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Human Movement Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, the Netherlands. In his research, he combines philosophical, sociological and pedagogical perspectives on sport and physical education, with special interest in new technologies.
