The promise of ‘sporting bodies’ in phenomenological thinking – how exceptional cases of practice can contribute to develop foundational phenomenological concepts

Abstract

For decades, qualitative researchers have used phenomenological thinking to advance reflections on particular kinds of lifeworlds. As emphasised by Allen-Collinson phenomenology offers a continuing promise of 'bringing the body back in' to theories on sport and physical activity. Turning to philosophy, traditionally, phenomenologists have not paid much attention to qualitative research. Nevertheless, phenomenology does contain a strong emphasis on using 'data' or experiences from daily life and on drawing on data from medical pathology. In other words while qualitative researchers employ phenomenology to empirically investigate the domain of sport and exercise, phenomenologists employ empirical data to substantiate their claims concerning foundational conditions of our being-in-the-world. In this article, we suggest a way to enhance the collaboration between the two fields by pointing out and giving examples of the resource of 'the factual variation.' Coined by Shaun Gallagher and developed from the Husserlian eidetic variation, the factual variation uses exceptional cases, normally from pathology, to shed new light on foundational phenomenological concepts. Drawing on our research of sports dancers and expert musicians, we indicate how qualitative researchers across the board, through the factual variation, can contribute to phenomenological thinking and thereby also strengthen their own theoretical foundation.

Embodied involvement in virtual worlds: the case of eSports practitioners

“…Here, combining classical phenomenological analyses with observations and interviews of a qualitative format with practitioners, or even masters, of eSports comportment can help further clarify and expound the embodied involvement at play during the virtual performance. One particularly able candidate for this form of research is the interdisciplinary research methodology exemplified in the work of Ravn, et al (Ravn & Høffding, 2016;Ravn & He, 2017). This interdisciplinary methodology has highlighted the potential benefits not only for empirical researchers interested in phenomenological, conceptual clarifications, but also for phenomenologists interested in acquiring data to corroborate or demonstrate their phenomenological descriptions (Ravn & Høffding, 2016).…”

“…One particularly able candidate for this form of research is the interdisciplinary research methodology exemplified in the work of Ravn, et al (Ravn & Høffding, 2016;Ravn & He, 2017). This interdisciplinary methodology has highlighted the potential benefits not only for empirical researchers interested in phenomenological, conceptual clarifications, but also for phenomenologists interested in acquiring data to corroborate or demonstrate their phenomenological descriptions (Ravn & Høffding, 2016). By combining phenomenological insights and phenomenologically based attentiveness and inquiry with data generated from eSports masters as representative of extreme cases within their unique, virtual domains (ibid.…”

Breaking Coaching’s Rules: Transforming the Body, Sport, and Performance

“…In other words, the body cannot be articulated in its entirety and so cannot be understood in its entirety and, as a result, it cannot be practiced in its entirety, and yet it is in its entirety that it is expected to perform. Today’s modern and bioscientific articulation of the body then not only overlooks the body’s intuitive qualities as suggested by many scholars (e.g., Atkinson, 2008; Hoberman, 1992; Hockey & Allen Collinson, 2007; Hughson, 2009; Kirk, 2002; Miller, 1995; Pronger, 1995; Ravn & Høffding, 2017; Shilling, 2003), it overlooks its self : its whole self.…”

Expert tool use: a phenomenological analysis of processes of incorporation in the case of elite rope skipping

“…When performing the factual variation, they have turned to exceptional pathological cases as these cases have been described in the science-based fields of psychiatry and the cognitive sciences, e.g. (Ravn and Høffding 2016). In accordance with recent methodological discussions (Høffding and Martiny 2015; Ravn 2016; Ravn and Høffding 2016), we argue that bodily expertise, as this expertise can be studied within the field of qualitative research, can constitute as good a basis for factual variation as pathology can within, e.g.…”