Coaching Ethics and Human Existence

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Coaching Ethics and Human Existence

• Dr Irena Martínková
• Charles University in Prague

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The Perspective

• Philosophy of Existence Heidegger
• (very important - but not much on ethics)
• versus
• Analytical philosophy
• established treatment of ethical topics
  (cheating, fair-play, doping, etc.)

3
Ethics Sport

• generally philosophers wider public see ethics
  as important
• we often see sport as a moral enterprise
• generally, in the training process - hardly any
  development of ethical thinking, other than
  rule-adherence (and codes)

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Ethics in Sport

• rule-adherence
• welfare ethics (utlitarianism)
• becoming virtuous (virtue ethics)
• understanding who we are (ontology)
• ? Philosophy of Existence (Heidegger)

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Understanding Explanation

• Essential feature of the human being
• no Explanation ? Understanding
• related to something unknown
• yes Understanding ? Explanation
• essential feature of the human being (Dasein)

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Dasein - existentialia

• Situatedness (being-there) thrown-ness
• Being-in-the-world
• Being-with-others
• Being in possibilities
• Understanding
• Anonymous others (das Man)
• Falling
• wholeness of the human being

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Situatedness ? Possibilities ? Planning
situatedness
possibilities
planning
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Falling. Self-realization.
victory
success
situatedness
self-assertion
self-preservation

Coach/athlete
possibilities
planning
9
Coaching
victory
success
self-assertion
self-preservation

Fitting into contemporary society
Instrument for s/th. Machine
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Authenticity
Finite possibilities ? choices
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Authenticity
das Man, traditional interpretation of society
less instrumentalization
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Implications for coaches

• Leading coaches to understand what we are
• 
  as human beings
• Uncovering instrumentality
• Minimalizing the mere repetition of given
• ways
  of doing things
• Transparency of human life ?
• 
  Leading to freedom
• Creativity
• Teaching this understanding to the athlete

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Thank you for your attention