ROBERT SIMON: I'm Robert
Simon, professor of philosophy,
semi-retired, at Hamilton College, a
former golf coach, and as you can see,
an avid golfer.
I just lost my golf ball.
However, I have another one in my hand.
I can simply drop the second ball
and say, look, I found my ball,
and no one would know.
But that would be cheating,
you say, and it would certainly
violate the ethics, which are
very strict of the sport of golf.
However, what about
things in other sports?
Soccer players sometimes
score the winning goals,
sometimes in the most elite competition
illegally using their hands.
Baseball players miss a base.
Linemen in American football hold
the shirts of their opponents
on many, many plays.
Are ethics relative to each sport,
or is there a universal ethic
that applies to all sports?
Should other sports be more like golf?
How important should winning be?
Is competition a good or bad thing,
or how should it be conducted?
What about gender equity in sports,
legislation passed by Congress
to promote equality in sports by
gender, increase participation
for women in sports tremendously.
But are there problems with Title IX?
We'll explore all these
issues and more in our course
and talk about the values that
may be inherent in athletics.
Are they good or bad?
Are they defensible?
We'll also work on critical
reasoning and explore
different sides of the issues.
I think you'll enjoy the course,
and I hope you'll join us.
