[SydPhil] REMINDER: THOMAS MURRAY Why we Play? Sports, Values and Drugs

[Stephen Matthews]

Reminder: public lecture by Professor Thomas H. Murray (President Emeritus of the Hastings Centre).



Topic: Why we play? Sports, Values and Drugs



When: Monday, 19 September, 5.30 pm for 6pm



Where: Tenison Woods House, ACU North Sydney Campus. Level 22, 8-20 Napier Street, North Sydney


Overview
The Rio Olympic Games were marked by disqualifications of many athletes for using performance-enhancing drugs. What makes the use of anabolic steroids, EPO and other forms of doping so persistent and pervasive? The dynamics of athletic competition set the stage for ethical analysis. Some commentators argue that the current system for deterring doping in sport is ineffective, misguided, or both. The standard defense of anti-doping offers two justifications: that it promotes fairness and protects athletes' health. Critics argue that fairness only requires that all competitors have access to the same performance-enhancing drugs, and that athletes' health would be better protected if doping were regulated under the care of physicians. Appreciating the realities of competitive sport undermines confidence in the concept of medically supervised doping. A careful examination of what gives sport its values and meaning provides a solid foundation for wanting to preserve a place for sport without performance-enhancing drugs.



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