Views on Doping Within a Moral Relativist Framework

DIALOGO Multidisciplinary Open Access JOURNAL, 2023

In this paper, two questions are been put forward: whether doping falls within the athlete’s freedom to do what they can to enhance their performance and whether or not is necessary an establishment of limits on the scientific research concerning these substances. Following this line of thought, two aspects of freedom are raised: the freedom of the athlete, and the freedom of the scientist. These two aspects are discussed within a moral framework, in particular that of moral relativism. For the first question, based on the theory, the athlete may consider that there is no absolute truth about doping, such as e.g. that it is wrong and not beneficial for sports, athletes, etc. The morally rightness of doping depends on the moral character of each athlete and/or the association, the country she/he represents. For the second question, one might consider that research in the field in question is not morally wrong. By investigating the properties of various substances we could be led to cures for several diseases and even to the augmentation of human capabilities. Both aspects are also discussed through selected interview answers. of professional athletes

European Journal of Applied Physiology, 2018

The term doping is generally used to indicate practices based on the use of performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs) or the abuse of medical therapies. Mostly analysed by doctors and officials, doping nevertheless also requires a philosophical consideration to avoid being simplistically portrayed as an isolated practice. To do this, we need to pay attention to the contradictions and paradoxes in the modern approach to doping in sport. In this context, doping is not only relevant to the health of an individual involved in the violation of World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) criteria, but it actually represents a double-edged phenomenon containing ethical and legal points of view. Several philosophical items affect the ethics of doping. While, indeed, through a deontological vision it is easy to morally condemn an athlete who takes the decision to turn to doping, the same condemnation becomes difficult when the practice of doping is compared with the strong social demand of winners in every field of life. This point must be considered to prevent doping from becoming accepted as a daily practice to excel at all costs and regarded not only as normal but as a necessity for those participating in sport at both an amateur and professional level. Furthermore, a complete discussion on doping has to consider not only the philosophy of performance-enhancing drug abuse, but also the widespread practice of an inappropriate and excessive intake of certain dietary supplements with the unique and obsessive purpose (similar to doping) of increasing physical or mental performance. Based on the above, the aim of this paper is to provide a critical opinion of the doping problem and its related practices and analyze possible solutions considering issues that go beyond the impact of doping on health and reflect on whether it is right or not that an athlete does all he can to improve his performance. Communicated by Michael Lindinger. Massimo Negro and Natale Marzullo contributed equally to this work.

Buletinul Academiei de Ştiinţe a Moldovei: Ştiinţele vieţii, 2022

Rezumat Dopajul este o problemă globală la evenimentele sportive mondiale de natură legală, medicală și etică. Forumurile sportive internaționale au încercat să oprească răspândirea acestui flagel, fără niciun rezultat. Programele educaționale, testele și tratamentul medical sunt de așteptat să reducă abuzul de substanțe. Tehnicile și substanțele noi, mai puternice și nedetectabile de testul anti-doping sunt abuzate de sportivii profesioniști, iar drogurile sunt distribuite prin diverse rețele sofisticate. Sportivii profesioniști sunt adesea modele pentru adolescenți, tineri și adulți, iar comportamentele acestora sunt imitate, inclusiv abuzul de droguri. Reanalizarea dopajului în sportul internațional va fi orientată către o mai buna informare a specialiștilor psihiatri și către o intervenție urgentă în tratarea dependenței de substanțe în sport.

Pannoniana: Journal of Humanities, 2020

The most plausible line of anti-doping argumentation starts with the fact that performance enhancing substances are harmful and put at considerable risk the health and the life of those who indulge in the overwhelming promises these substances hold. From a liberal point of view, however, this is not a strong reason neither to morally reject doping altogether, nor to put a blanket ban on it; on the contrary, allowing adult, competent and informed athletes to have access to performance enhancement drugs is often showcased as a liberty-related right of noninterference. In this article I will first discuss doping from the liberal point of view, especially in the light of the harm principle as it was introduced by Mill and elaborated by his successors, most notably by Joel Feinberg. Then I will examine whether-and to what degree-one's decision to receive performance enhancement drugs would mean to use humanity in one's own person only as a means, which would be self-defeating in the light of Kantian ethics. From this I will move one step backwards to what I consider as the core question concerning the ethics of doping, the one that is logically prior to any other in my view, and concerns the consistency of the thesis that doping may be compatible with sport. I will argue that there is an inherent logical antinomy between doing sport and using performance enhancement drugs, one that presents any argumentation in favor of doping as essentially self-contradictory.

2017

Doping is not a modern phenomenon. The practice of using illegal substances to improve physical performance beyond one’s physical capabilities and thus beat challengers during sports events goes back to very ancient times. Already during the first Olympic Games, athletes used stimulating substances to become more competitive. Greek and Roman wrestlers ingested special mushrooms or various types of meat, convinced that this would give them an edge in wrestling matches. However, today in some sports the scope of this phenomenon has become worrying, in view of the need not only to safeguard fair competition, but also and especially to protect athletes’ health. The aim of this study is to explore and identify the dynamics of doping within sports disciplines and the mechanisms that cause its growth. We shall also attempt to understand whether there are substantial differences in the demand for doping among the various sports disciplines. The distinctive feature of this study is the inter...

2013 INHDR Conference Book of Abstracts

"When studying doping issues in depth from a multidisciplinary approach, one is faced with material considerations which involve serious and complex problems and that consequently give rise to outstanding reflections of different nature (i.e. economic, social and related to the mass media), but the issues underlying the health sphere are also addressed. Thus, in this paper the term “health” refers not only to physical health, which has been adequately defined in the field of doping, where it has also been dealt with using a comprehensive approach, but also to mental or psychological aspects, which until now have not actually received the kind of attention they deserve, and consequently a more detailed and accurate research should be carried out in this regard. Thus, the ultimate purpose of this paper is to address the abovementioned questions in order to be able to offer a general background of the health risks and the side effects which doping gives rise to from both a physical, and particularly, a psychic viewpoint. In the light of all this, this paper addresses the psychic side effects triggered by doping in sport, which in many cases result not only in the mental illness of the practitioner, but they also impair the health of the athlete's offspring, and there is some evidence in this regard. As a result of all this, this paper focuses also on the socio-psychological perspective of doping, namely, on the underlying reasons or the psychological considerations which induce athletes to resort to doping, or the reasons why they feel the need for doping. Moreover, apart from dealing with the protection of the athlete´s health -a backbone of the antidoping policy-, ensuring equal opportunities for competitors and preserving sport values (e.g. fair play) are the three central pillars on which this paper is based. Thus, as far as equal opportunities are concerned, this paper considers the view of sport as a business, where economic reasons are paramount. In this context, fraud and unfair competition are two aspects well worth considering. On the other hand, and as far as the preservation of sport values is concerned, the relationship between ethics and sport comes into play, and doping becomes actually one of the main problems associated to both professional and amateur sport, which are encompassed under the fuzzy definition of “fair play”. Lastly, and being consistent with the title of this paper “(...) beyond the athlete`s liability”, the legal implications of these issues, namely, the liability of those involved in doping cases (i.e. healthcare agents, coaches or athlete's managers) is also considered. For this purpose, addressing all these issues from the point of view of Criminal Law is essential to fully understand the legally protected interest in doping. Apart from the views held by the majority doctrine regarding "public health" as the legally protected interest, a reflection on “fair play” as something legally protected becomes of the utmost importance, and consequently –at present be it hypothetical or of lege ferenda-, the athletes themselves would be held to be liable on the grounds of their doping behaviour."

Sport, Ethics and Philosophy, 2017

The current World Anti-doping Code can be characterised as a tough approach to doping. In this paper we investigate how the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) justifies this tough approach. To this end, WADA advances two justificatory arguments. It maintains, first, that protection of the spirit of sport warrants tough measures and, second, that athletes have voluntarily consented to the Code. We argue that in the way they are presented by WADA, neither of these arguments can withstand scrutiny. In the second part of the paper, we go on to show that these arguments are in fact ideological in nature. The specific aim of these arguments is not to be correct, but rather to distort social reality, because in this way they can be used to ward off any critical discussion of the Code. We conclude that WADA's interest is to create a façade of justice, not in serving justice itself.

Biology of Sport, 2009

The aim of the present study was twofold: a) to verify the previously detected regularities in a group of subjects larger than the one employed in a pilot study, and b) to define the internal structure of the hierarchy of values that can be squandered as a result of doping. For the study, eighty-nine 16-18-year-old students from the fencing, athletics, martial arts, and football classes of the School of Championship in Sports were recruited. Experimental technique developed by Mroczkowska called "Perception of the risk of doping" was employed to individually rank the highly regarded values (e.g., health, medals won, physical appeal, mental balance, financial bonuses, and social respect) that can be lost as a consequence of the use of illegal stimulants. It appears that young athletes would declaratively resign themselves from the loss of a financial bonus rather than from the loss of the social respect and attributes of self-integrity, such as physical and mental health. The detected correlations suggest that the rewarding value of a medal has an internal dimension: it externalizes a sense of self-confidence and confirms high self-esteem. The results indicate that, as perceived by the young, winning a medal with the help of doping is an illusion that does not allow to verify one's own skills and limitations.

Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.), 2015

A philosophical debate on the morality of doping is interesting but beyond the scope of our meta-analysis. Sports Medicine.