ABSTRACT
Aesthetics, as a philosophical discipline, covers two related but distinct issues: beauty and art. This chapter presents the core debates that have developed within the philosophy of sport over, firstly, the aesthetic evaluation of sport and, secondly, the possible identity of sport and art, before commenting on developments within the aesthetics of sport. While V. Hohler similarly focuses on movement, his appeal to the integration of conflicting components broadens the scope of the aesthetic quality of the sport to the game as a whole. In accusing S. K. Wertz and others of conflating the aesthetic and the artistic, Best is suggesting that they are appealing to what is known as the ‘aesthetic definition of art’. Substance may be given to counter arguments by turning away from the issue of sport’s aesthetic qualities, in favour of an examination of the relationship between sport and art.
