"Hit him, Stefan, hit him. Yes, hit him!” Martial arts can be described as an activity where the practitioners exercise violence against each other under consent. The martial arts audience does not merely accept this violence, but also seems to find pleasure in actively encouraging it. How does this behavior affect the members of the audience? This essay discusses whether martial arts spectators who encourage violence – and seem to enjoy watching it – de facto express an inherent belief that some people lack human dignity. Is there something in the martial arts audience, or in the martial arts itself, that makes the participants look at human dignity in another way than the rest of society? If so, does this risk affecting the view that martial arts spectators have of human dignity in general? The essay first discusses the legitimacy of martial arts and the autonomy of sports. Subsequently, the focus turns to the core question: What happens when sport does not reward virtue but instead focuses on diminishing the opponent's human dignity? By including the spectators, I analyze what risks happening to the audience when they act based on what is accepted in the martial arts arena but not in society at large. This essay argues that the audience’s behavior risks opening the door to humanity's darker, and brutal side. A side held back by the idea of the dignity of all people. A side that, if given free rein, has been behind the most horrific events in history.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UPSALLA1/oai:DiVA.org:uu-502872 |
| Date | January 2023 |
| Creators | Langetz, Jonas |
| Publisher | Uppsala universitet, Teologiska institutionen, 7805010076 |
| Source Sets | DiVA Archive at Upsalla University |
| Language | Swedish |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Student thesis, info:eu-repo/semantics/bachelorThesis, text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Rights | info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
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