Marx’s repulsion and Serres’s turbulence: a Lucretian philosophy of movement

Aldo Houterman*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

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Abstract

This article demonstrates the importance of making explicit different conceptions of movement for the philosophy of sport. In addition to the mechanistic and the Aristotelian approaches, this article presents a third, underexplored view of movement, namely that of Lucretius as interpreted by Karl Marx and Michel Serres. By exploring the similarities between Marx’s motion of repulsion and Serres’s turbulent flux, it will be argued that a Lucretian view offers a philosophy of movement that uniquely does not rely on stasis. This Lucretian perspective is illustrated through Serres’s elaborations on the body and sport. It is concluded that sport is not primarily a rational, rule-guided practice but arises from moving and sensuous bodies that are always deviating from their standard trajectory.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)135-150
Number of pages16
JournalJournal of the Philosophy of Sport
Volume52
Issue number1
Early online date29 Nov 2024
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2025

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2024 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

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