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


Book Description
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.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

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.

SYNOPSIS

Thirty-two academics and philosophers, most from the U.S., contribute 29 essays exploring philosophical questions about the whos, whats, and whys of baseball which demonstrate the game's connections to larger issues of truth, justice, American identity, and human fulfillment. This text will appeal to hardcore baseball fans who enjoy analyzing the sport from a "bigger picture" perspective, as well as philosophy students and practitioners interested in the philosophical aspects of sports/popular culture. Annotation ©2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

FROM THE CRITICS

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