From Nichomachean to Cyborgean - the Un-Bio-Ethical Dimension of the Olympics and Paralympics: Bioethical Concerns Regarding Respect for Autonomy and Power Dynamics among the Doctor/Coach/Athlete Triad in Pursuit of Human Performance

Abstract

The essence of the Paralympics is “the pursuit of human excellence through the dedicated perfection of each person’s natural talents”. In the realm of health, disability, law and bioethics, scholars have sought to explore the impact that disability has on legal, medical and social structures, and with the Paralympics being a socially structured phenomenon it is fair play for such applications of scholarly endeavor. Can body alternations ever be justified? Does society accept bodies that are more than just biological? Accepting that cheating is fundamentally contrary to that spirit of sport, then why is it that those Olympic rings are tarnished by a plethora of negative examples and un-sports-person-like behaviors which permeate the very fabric of Paralympic sport, while society blatantly ignores all these un-ethical challenges in the sacrificial temple of spectacle, record breaking and revenue making broadcasting marvels pursuant to the need for a creation of modern day heroes?

Presenters

Constantine Psimopoulos
Student, Master of Bioethics, Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts, United States

Details

Presentation Type

Paper Presentation in a Themed Session

Theme

2022 Special Focus—Whose Body Is it? Sport and the Problem of Autonomy

KEYWORDS

Olympism, Paralympics, Ethics, Doping, Disability Sport, Human Dignity

Digital Media

Downloads

From Nichomachean to Cyborgean - the Un-Bio-Ethical Dimension of the Olympics and Paralympics (pdf)

Sport_in_Society_Aarhus_2022_-_Constantine_Psimopoulos_-_Emerging_Scholar_Award_-_Harvard_Medical_School.pdf

From Nichomachean to Cyborgean - the Un-Bio-Ethical Dimension of the Olympics and Paralympics (PDF)

From_Nichomachean_to_Cyborgean_-_Olympism_-_Bioethics_-_Constantine_Psimopoulos_Manuscript_Sport_in_Society_Aarhus_2022.pdf