Existential Learning in Sport: on Finding our Ways through Life

Two typical assumption of our youth sport cultures are that sport contributes to positive youth development (PYD) and that participants learn something important not only for sport, but life in general. As our previous work with colleagues (as well as the work of other researchers) has pointed out, this learning in sport has been oftenContinue reading “Existential Learning in Sport: on Finding our Ways through Life”

Meaningful Sport Podcast: What is New for 2022?

The meaningful sport thematic series has now been going for about 1.5 years as a part of Physical Activity Researcher podcast. During this time, the podcast has grown steadily and we have been delighted to have a third host, Liis Kukkonen, leading her “practitioner viewpoint” series. Meaningful Sport episodes have been released on Fridays andContinue reading “Meaningful Sport Podcast: What is New for 2022?”

Is Covid-19 a Game Changer for Sport? A reflection on IAPS Round Table Discussion

I was delighted to contribute to a round table discussion organised by Sandra Meeuwsen and Yunus Tuncel in the recent International Association for the Philosophy of Sport (IAPS) online conference. Two questions were centralised: Is Covid-19 a Game Changer for Modern Sport? And if so: Can Philosophy of Sport community help guide the transition? InContinue reading “Is Covid-19 a Game Changer for Sport? A reflection on IAPS Round Table Discussion”

What Can we Learn from Meaningful Work when Studying Meaningful Sport?

In the forthcoming ISSP conference, we’re doing a talk with Michael McDougall on ‘Lessons Learned from Meaningful Work: Implications for Sport Psychology and Understanding Meaningfulness in Sport’ . After recording the presentation a few days ago, I wanted to reflect on a few things arising from this work. Meaning and meaningfulness in sport (broadly understood)Continue reading “What Can we Learn from Meaningful Work when Studying Meaningful Sport?”

Physical Activity Guidelines for Meaningful Living?

I have been long troubled by the fact that physical activity recommendations for the public are almost exclusively produced from a medical perspective. The goal is the promotion of physical and psychological health and reducing the risk of chronic diseases. Typically, the minimum amount is identified for producing the benefits. I mean, who would wantContinue reading “Physical Activity Guidelines for Meaningful Living?”

The ‘healthy minded’ and ‘sick souls’ in Sport?

I’ve recently gone back to reading William James, the American philosopher and psychologist whose classic work The Varieties of Religious Experience (1902) I first encountered when exploring the spiritual dimension of running in my Master’s thesis 10 years ago. That time my interest was on considering how the sacred or transcendent dimension might manifest inContinue reading “The ‘healthy minded’ and ‘sick souls’ in Sport?”

Some reflections on QRSE early-career researcher keynote

I was really honoured to give a keynote talk on the Meaningful Sport project at the Qualitative Research in Sport and Exercise (QRSE) early career researcher & student conference last week. It was certainly not easy to narrow down what I wanted to say in 30 minutes. Doing the podcasting in the past year, IContinue reading “Some reflections on QRSE early-career researcher keynote”

Why I am glad I had to ski as a child

We’ve had an exceptional winter in Finland with a lot of snow even in the Southern part of the country. I have been doing more cross-country skiing than in years and it has been the highlight of the past two months, especially with the restricted life under COVID. Also, I’ve heard about the many waysContinue reading “Why I am glad I had to ski as a child”

Sport, loneliness and solitude

The value of sport and physical activity is often found in the potential to bring people together, to form communities, to develop new friendships or strengthen existing ones. Self-determination theory, which often informs initiatives to promote exercise and physical activity, has relatedness as one key component. This often translates to emphasising social support and connectednessContinue reading “Sport, loneliness and solitude”

Sport, Happiness, Meaning and ‘the Good Life’

Philosophers throughout history have sought to understand what constitutes a good life. Two candidates often rise above the others: happiness and meaning. Happiness can be understood in many different ways. Psychologists have recently taken interest in the philosophical debates on the difference between hedonia and eudaimonia, that are often understood as two different conceptions ofContinue reading “Sport, Happiness, Meaning and ‘the Good Life’”