ABSTRACT
The philosophy that underpins the Olympic movement is generally referred to as “Olympism,” but it is far from clear exactly what Olympism is, where it comes from, and where it takes itself to be going. This chapter explores those questions, beginning with a discussion of whether Olympism can legitimately be called a philosophy at all. It addresses the second question that whether Olympism constitutes a philosophy of sport, or rather is a philosophy informed by sport—specifically, values intrinsic to sport which support the larger goals of the Olympic movement. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) sets out criteria for inclusion of sports in the Olympic program, so there is, as Jim Parry notes, some meaningful debate about what an Olympic sport should be. For the London 2012 Olympics, the IOC pressured the Saudi Arabians to include female athletes in their team.
