Basketball and Philosophy: Thinking Outside the Paint (The Philosophy of Popular Culture)

What can the film Hoosiers teach us about the meaning of life? How can ancient Eastern wisdom traditions, such as Taoism and Zen Buddhism, improve our jump-shots? What can the "Zen Master" (Phil Jackson) and the "Big Aristotle" (Shaquille O'Neal) teach us about sustained excellence and success? Is women's basketball "better" basketball? How, ethically, should one deal with a strategic cheater in pickup basketball? With NBA and NCAA team rosters constantly changing, what does it mean to play for the "same team"? What can coaching legends Dean Smith, Rick Pitino, Pat Summitt, and Mike Krzyzewski teach us about character, achievement, and competition? What makes basketball such a beautiful game to watch and play? Basketball is now the most popular team sport in the United States; each year, more than 50 million Americans attend college and pro basketball games. When Dr. James Naismith, the inventor of basketball, first nailed two peach baskets at the opposite ends of a Springfield, Massachusetts, gym in 1891, he had little idea of how thoroughly the game would shape American―and international―culture. Hoops superstars such as Michael Jordan, LeBron James, and Yao Ming are now instantly recognized celebrities all across the planet. So what can a group of philosophers add to the understanding of basketball? It is a relatively simple game, but as Kant and Dennis Rodman liked to say, appearances can be deceiving. Coach Phil Jackson actively uses philosophy to improve player performance and to motivate and inspire his team and his fellow coaches, both on and off the court. Jackson has integrated philosophy into his coaching and his personal life so thoroughly that it is often difficult to distinguish his role as a basketball coach from his role as a philosophical guide and mentor to his players. In Basketball and Philosophy, a Dream Team of twenty-six basketball fans, most of whom also happen to be philosophers, proves that basketball is the thinking person's sport. They look at what happens when the Tao meets the hardwood as they explore the teamwork, patience, selflessness, and balanced and harmonious action that make up the art of playing basketball. A Collection Of Essays Explores The Ways Basketball Evokes A Multitude Of Philosophical Issues And Questions. Tip-off : Hoops, Pop Culture, And Philosophy -- First Quarter : Baseline Values, Enduring Lessons -- Building Communities One Gym At A Time : Communitarianism And The Decline Of Small-town Basketball / Stephen H. Webb -- To Hack Or Not To Hack? (the Big) Aristotle, Excellence, And Moral Decision-making / Thomas D. Kennedy -- Basketball Purists : Blind Sentimentalists Or Insightful Critics? / R. Scott Kretchmar -- Hardwood Dojos : What Basketball Can Teach Us About Character And Success / Gregory Bassham And Mark Hamilton -- What Would Machiavelli Do? Confronting The Strategic Cheater In Pickup Basketball / Regan Lance Reitsma -- Basketball, Violence, Forgiveness, And Healing / Luke Witte -- The Breaks Of The Game : Luck And Fairness In Basketball / Scott A. Davison -- The Beauty Of The Game / Peg Brand And Myles Brand -- Second Quarter : Prime-time Players, Coaches, And Sages --^ The Zen Master And The Big Aristotle : Cultivating A Philosopher In The Low Post / Fritz Allhoff And Anand J. Vaidya -- Wilt Versus Russell : Excellence On The Hardwood / David K. O'connor -- The Wizard Versus The General : Why Bob Knight Is A Greater Coach Than John Wooden / Jerry L. Walls -- Third Quarter : Shooting From The Perimeter -- The Dao Of Hoops / Dirk Dunbar -- Hoop Dreams, Blacktop Realities : Basketball's Role In The Social Construction Of Black Manhood / Bernard Jackson Jr. -- She Got Game : Basketball And The Perfectly Developed Woman / Deborah A. Wallace And James M. Wallace -- Fourth Quarter : Metaphysical Madness -- Shooting With Confidence / Kevin Kinghorn -- The Hot Hand In Basketball : Illusion Or Reality? / Steven D. Hales -- Philosophers Can't Jump : Reflections On Living Time And Space In Basketball / Tim Elcombe -- Playing For The Same Team Again / Matthew H. Slater And Achille C. Varzi --^ Plato And Aristotle On The Role Of Soul In Taking The Rock To The Hole / Daniel B. Gallagher -- The Basket That Never Was / Thomas P. Flint -- Hoosiers And The Meaning Of Life / Michael L. Peterson -- The Lineup. Edited By Jerry L. Walls And Gregory Bassham ; With A Foreword By Dick Vitale. Includes Bibliographical References And Index.