Lars Magnus Engström, 1938–2014

For some time, researchers have tried to understand the meaning of sport and other forms of movement. This was certainly the case of Professor Lars-Magnus Engström, who devoted virtually his whole professional career to a longitudinal studie of 2000 Swedes who were born in 1953, in order to gain understanding of their motives and motivation for participating in sports and other movement activities. Professor Engström started the study in 1968 and the last time the informants were contacted was in 2006, thirty-eight years later. Inspired by the French cultural sociologist Pierre Bourdieu, Engström developed a theoretical framework based on the concept logic of practice in order to understand why some people develop a taste for being physically active and, importantly, in what forms of practice they participate.

Angela Schneider, Håkan Larsson, Jim Parry

In this session, researchers from the humanities and the social sciences will contribute to a deep and nuanced understanding of logics of sport practices. The first speaker, Professor Angela Schneider, Western University, London, Ontario, Canada, will give a philosophical account of the meaning of sport in contemporary society, in particular put in relation to ethical issues. More specifically, the question of whether the ethics of sport is tied to the logic of the practice of sports will be addressed.

The second speaker, Professor Håkan Larsson, The Swedish School of Sport and Health Sciences, Stockholm, Sweden, will outline his theory of the logic of sports practices based on the intersection between Pierre Bourdieu’s cultural sociological ‘toolbox’ and Lars-Magnus Engström’s insights from his 38-year follow-up study. This approach suggests that rather than projecting rational objectives, such as health, education or sport performance, to movement activities, the activities must be understood on the basis of the practical logic of the activities themselves as they unfold over time.

The third and last speaker, Professor Jim Parry, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic, will examine the logic of competitive sports from the perspective of analytical philosophy. He will utilise the techniques of conceptual analysis, suggesting logically necessary conditions for the use of the word “sport”, and he will try to show how the resulting criteria can act both as a demarcation device (between sport and non-sporting activities), and as a source of value prescriptions for sporting practice.

The invited session [IS-SH07] The logics of practice of sports – outline of a theory will start 10:20 Saturday 27th June in Lecture room “Live 2”.

 Post by Professor Håkan Larsson
The Swedish School of Sport and Health Science