Document Detail


Philosophy on steroids: a reply.
MedLine Citation:
PMID:  20706791     Owner:  NLM     Status:  MEDLINE    
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
Brent Kious has recently attacked several arguments generally adduced to support anti-doping in sports, which are widely supported by the sports medicine fraternity, international sports federations, and international governments. We show that his attack does not succeed for a variety of reasons. First, it uses an overly inclusive definition of doping at odds with the WADA definition, which has global, if somewhat contentious, currency. Second, it seriously misconstrues the position it attacks, rendering the attack without force against a more balanced construal of an anti-doping position. Third, it makes unwarranted appeals to matters Kious considers morally 'clear', while simultaneously attacking a position many others take to be equally morally 'clear', namely that of anti-doping. Such an inconsistency, attacking and appealing to the moral status quo as befits one's argument, is not acceptable without further qualification. Fourth, his position suffers from a general methodological flaw of over-reliance upon argumentation by analogy. Moreover, it is argued that the analogies, being poorly selected and developed, fail to justify his conclusion that the anti-doping lobby lacks philosophical and moral authority for its stance. These issues are symptomatic of a more fundamental problem: any attempt at providing a blanket solution to the question of whether doping is morally acceptable or not is bound to run up against problems when applied to highly specific contexts. Thus, rather than reaching any particular conclusion for or against doping products or processes in this article, we conclude that an increased context-sensitivity will result in a more evenhanded appraisal of arguments on the matter.
Authors:
Oskar MacGregor; Mike McNamee
Publication Detail:
Type:  Comment; Journal Article    
Journal Detail:
Title:  Theoretical medicine and bioethics     Volume:  31     ISSN:  1573-0980     ISO Abbreviation:  Theor Med Bioeth     Publication Date:  2010 Dec 
Date Detail:
Created Date:  2010-11-09     Completed Date:  2010-11-26     Revised Date:  -    
Medline Journal Info:
Nlm Unique ID:  9805378     Medline TA:  Theor Med Bioeth     Country:  Netherlands    
Other Details:
Languages:  eng     Pagination:  401-10     Citation Subset:  E; IM    
Affiliation:
Department of Philosophy, History and Law in Healthcare, School of Human and Health Sciences, Swansea University, Singleton Park, Swansea SA28PP, UK. 571823@swansea.ac.uk
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MeSH Terms
Descriptor/Qualifier:
Athletic Performance*
Choice Behavior / ethics
Coercion
Doping in Sports / ethics*,  psychology
Humans
Personal Autonomy
Sports / ethics*,  psychology
Steroids / administration & dosage*,  adverse effects
Chemical
Reg. No./Substance:
0/Steroids
Comments/Corrections
Comment On:
Theor Med Bioeth. 2008;29(4):213-34   [PMID:  18941924 ]

From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine


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