Philosophy
Spain has moved the responsibility for overseeing bullfighting from its ministry of the interior to the ministry of culture. The idea is the activity ought to be considered art rather than sport. I am not interested here in ethical questions of the legitimacy and cruelty of the activity, but rather how we ought to think of it.
On one hand, hunting, fishing, and rodeo activities are sports. Isn't bullfighting just an exotic cousin? The goal is similar in that if done well, an animal is conquered.
But, of course, the means are clearly different in that one does not camouflage oneself -- quite the opposite -- and the goal of bullfighting is not merely the death of the animal, but to be maximally graceful in all aspects of the ritual. It is the grace, not the death that is the criteria of judgment of success or failure. Does that make the activity art or just a different kind of sport, like figure skating to speed skating?
Or is it something completely different? The word ritual does seem to apply, is it a religious ritual for a civil religion? Or is it something else?
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Philosophy
Is Bullfighting Art?
Spain has moved the responsibility for overseeing bullfighting from its ministry of the interior to the ministry of culture. The idea is the activity ought to be considered art rather than sport. I am not interested here in ethical questions of the legitimacy and cruelty of the activity, but rather how we ought to think of it.
On one hand, hunting, fishing, and rodeo activities are sports. Isn't bullfighting just an exotic cousin? The goal is similar in that if done well, an animal is conquered.
But, of course, the means are clearly different in that one does not camouflage oneself -- quite the opposite -- and the goal of bullfighting is not merely the death of the animal, but to be maximally graceful in all aspects of the ritual. It is the grace, not the death that is the criteria of judgment of success or failure. Does that make the activity art or just a different kind of sport, like figure skating to speed skating?
Or is it something completely different? The word ritual does seem to apply, is it a religious ritual for a civil religion? Or is it something else?
- Revisions And Performance
Two questions from JB. First, "Since your Einstein book was published, what would you go back and change/update?"I would add a chapter concerned with the relation between politics in the 20s-30s, the history of anthropology, and eugenics. ...
- Ritual And Superstition
Thinking about the relationship between ritual and superstition. Clearly some rituals are non-superstitious. No one thinks that not getting together for Thanksgiving will invite bad luck. The ritual is culturally enforced, but has clear...
- What's The Difference?: Athletics, Sports, And Games
What is the difference between games, sports, and athletics? While surely not all games are sports, can we say that all sports are games? Not all athletic activities sports, but are all sports athletic activities? What about competitive ballroom dancing?...
- The Value Of False Rituals
TheWife loves rituals. She finds great meaning in them, even if they are new rituals that she or we are inventing for our family as we go. I, on the other hand, have never been one for rituals. They've always seemed like inauthentic actions performed...
- Realizing One's Limits
This is extreme, involving an elected form of danger unlike self-preservation and bellicose aggression in times of armed conflict. Nevertheless, it does involve Hemingway's "grace under pressure". It's difficult to be "cool" in dangerous situations....