Baseball and Philosophy: Thinking Outside the Batter's Box [Paperback]

Eric Bronson (Editor), Bill Littlefield (Foreword)

Book Description

Series: Popular Culture and Philosophy | Publication Date: January 9, 2004

William Irwin has taken philosophy out of the academy and put it on the bestseller list. The series has been featured in The New York Times and People, and on NPR's All Things Considered. Now philosophy finds its real home — in the dugout. In Baseball and Philosophy, 18 professors — some from the new field devoted to the philosophy of sport, others unapologetic baseball fans — explore the sport's deeper aspects. How can Zen be applied to hitting? Do you play to win or play by the rules? Is it ethical to employ deception in sports? Can a game be defined by its written rules or are there also other constraints? What can the U.S. Supreme Court learn from umpiring? Why should baseball be the only industry exempt from antitrust laws? These are some of the questions addressed in this witty, provocative blend of two major American pastimes: watching baseball and thinking about it.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Put Sammy Sosa and Socrates into the same dugout, and soon the two are hotly debating whether batting against a flame-throwing pitcher fosters self-knowledge. Heavy hitters and deep thinkers do indeed tangle in this provocative and entertaining addition to the Popular Culture and Philosophy series. We learn, for instance, how in his famous .400 season of 1941, Ted Williams enacted the drama of a Socratic elanchos as he confronted the risk of failure through his very last at-bat. We learn, too, how Gaylord Perry violated the ethical imperatives of Kant by throwing spitballs, yet may still have satisfied the more elastic moral demands of Aristotle. The contributors view baseball from widely divergent perspectives, social to metaphysical, but most leaven their philosophical pondering with a puckish irreverence that allows Yogi Berra to translate St. Augustine and that asks Kierkegaard to lay down a bunt. And all of the contributors share an infectious love for a game inviting commentary that transcends sports cliche. Bryce Christensen
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review

"This season's best oddball anthology featuring an engaging lineup of philosophers opining on urgent baseball conundrums." -- Seattle Post-Intelligencer, August 27, 2004

Product Details

• Paperback: 350 pages
• Publisher: Open Court (January 9, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0812695569
• ISBN-13: 978-0812695564
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #222,149 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Legitimizing the Loyalty of a Brooklyn Dodger Fan, April 8, 2004

By 

Evelyn Feldschuh (New Jersey) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Baseball and Philosophy: Thinking Outside the Batter's Box (Paperback)

There is something more to baseball than athletes playing ball. That something explains the lingering nostalgia of Brooklyn Dodger Fans and the fanatical loyalty of Chicago Cubs fans. Baseball and Philosophy finally explains why our national game of summer grips our hearts and minds.

The titles of the chapters in Baseball and Philosophy immediately compel us to read. The intros to the chapters add the humor and drama that draw us to baseball. But it is the essays themselves that speak to our hearts and give voice to our passion.

Some of the chapters deal with today's and yesterday's stars. The authors cite Toqueville and Pascal to explain some of our hero worship in the face of adversity, whether it's putting up with the boisterous shinanigans of Reggie or the corked bat contrition of Sosa. We learn how baseball thrives in a Japanese culture of team harmony and in an American culture of frontier-blazing individualism. Legal scholars explain the unique position of the baseball industry in American courts. Ethicists and statisticians offer reasons for our nitpicking love of detail.

So why do we love baseball? Why do we forgive our heroes the sins of cheating, the anti-social behavior, even the crimes of racism? There is a reason for our madness. Kant, Socrates, Aristotle, John Stuart Mill give cause for our fanaticism.

Always humorous, always informative, sometimes controversial, the modern day philosophers who contributed to this book speak for all of us who love the game despite our best intentions. It's a great read!

10 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars For baseball enthusiasts and philosophy students, June 7, 2004

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Baseball and Philosophy: Thinking Outside the Batter's Box (Paperback)

Compiled and edited by Eric Bronson, and enhanced with an informative Foreword by Bill Littlefield, Baseball And Philosophy: Thinking Outside The Batter's Box is an impressive, 352-page anthology of essays contributed by 31 contributors exploring some of the deeper questions and lessons baseball has to offer with respect to the American identity and universal human fulfillment. Addressing such unique considerations as whether or not the Intentional Walk is unethical; can superstition make a player better; do Cubs fans teach us about religious faith; does chance decide who wins the World Series; why baseball is the only American industry exempt from federal anti-trust laws; what the U.S. Supreme Court could learn from umpiring ball games; and a great deal more. Baseball And Philosophy is uniquely and enthusiastically recommended to the attention of two seemingly diverse readerships: baseball enthusiasts and philosophy students.

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Baseball Almanac Book Review, February 28, 2004

By 

Sean Holtz "Baseball Almanac , Inc." (Miami, FL USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Baseball and Philosophy: Thinking Outside the Batter's Box (Paperback)

Refreshingly different. For those seeking something less than the number crunching books but more than just another history lesson, Baseball and Philosophy delivers providing the serious fan with a series of short essays aimed at America's baseball institution. Taken from our (www.baseball-almanac.com) full review done February 28, 2004).