Brian Harrell: Outside Reading (David Best)

David Best's Philosophy and Human Movement:

 Sports philosopher David Best describes the aesthetics behind sports in his work, Philosophy and Human Movement. In this work, he makes the distinction between two kinds of sports: purposive sports and aesthetic sports. He describes how in purposive sports, the object of the game is to score a goal, crossing a line; reaching some sort of goal before the opposing team and/or person in aims to win. In aesthetic sports, Best argues that "...with aesthetic sports, such as gymnastics, figure-skating or high-board diving, the outcome is determined by the subjective judgment of experts. Some people even wonder if aesthetic sports are sports at all because of the judging involved."

 This distinction that Best describes truly undermines aesthetic sports, but I argue that in sports like surfing, gymnastics, or diving still require a "goal" that each person aims to achieve. Sports are all beautiful; the things that stand out to the viewer are not about the sport itself but, it is the achievements, the individual efforts, the "goals" that athletes reach that make the sport so beautiful. Sports tell a story, they allow people to both relate to the champion and the loser (both are times most people will face in life). The true beauty behind sports is that it is triumph and disaster witnessed at the same time.

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