Dr.Sc.Phil., Professor N.M. Mamedova¹
PhD, Associate Professor V.D. Gavrish¹
A.V. Skatershchikova¹
PhD, Associate Professor A.S. Fomina^1
1Plekhanov Russian University of Economics, Moscow

Keywords: axiology, corporeality, praxeology, identification, hedonism, aesthetics

Background. Studies of modern sports in sociological aspects imply a top priority being given to their resource for and effects on the individual and social developmental processes. Modern civilization exposes people to a variety of specific risks, effects and challenges (informational, environmental, economic, psychological etc.) and often brings to the forefront of the individual agendas the survival and adaptation issues. To adapt to modern environments one needs a variety of qualities and abilities including endurance, competitiveness, stress tolerance and high working capacity being built. Modern sports are increasingly influential in the socio-cultural domain with their evolution to interpersonal, intercultural and global communication, human nature protection and development and social system reproduction tools.

Objective of the study was to analyse the socio-cultural influences of the modern sports and their place in the modern social practices with a special emphasis on the social functionality of sports.

Methods and structure of the study. Applied in the study were the system analysis and structure functionality analysis. The system analysis was designed to consider the modern sports system as an integrated phenomenon with its every interrelated element serving to reproduce both a personality and a social system on the whole. The structure functionality analysis was applied to consider different functions of modern sports in the context of social practices favoured by the modern civilizations.

Study results and discussion. Modern social environments are multisided and include, among other things, multiple social strata with their specific social practices. The term “social practices” is increasingly applied in the modern sociological literature, with a high priority given to their individual and social reproduction functionality. This is the reason why a special emphasis is made on the physical education and sports as the key elements of the modern social practices with their respective different functions. We can only agree with the statement that “the social functions, values and implications of sports shall be interpreted as the self-important and non-limited to physical culture as such” [2, p. 198].

Axiological function of modern sports implies not only the sports being ranked among the key values by every individual and society on the whole but also due corporeality, motor functionality, plasticity and physical excellence standards being set by the society to urge every individual rate his/her own progress and lifestyle versus these standards. “Physical perfection means the multisided harmonized development of a human physiology and physicality (on a separate and integrated bases) to improve efficiency of the relevant social responsibilities in the specific environments” [4]. Corporeality is considered in this context as a universal cultural value since the body perfection agenda may be viewed as geared to address the relevant social transformation ideas and senses. Corporeality interpreted as a biosocial notion may be analysed in its external and internal manifestations and vectors. Its internal vector refers to the individual sentiments, needs and self-learning experience. And its external vector implies the self-expression means, body shaping, plastic expressions, i.e. its body language on the whole. Originating from the life elements, every human being is always a part of these elements albeit naturally prone to sever from them. Basic values of nature and life are naturally accepted by every human as the universal values with their ideals of corporeality. As reasonably provided by B.G. Akchurin, the ongoing interference in the human genome may be interpreted as a discovery of human nature that may totally reform our self-perception in terms of the human generation ethics [1]. It is important that the modern sports play a unique role in the human corporeality perfection domain with no detriment to the human genetic fund.

Praxeologic function of sports implies the transformation of own self and own needs by every individual as required by the modern sport values. Forms of modern social practices (in labour, everyday live and leisure) are so versatile that require the relevant qualities, abilities and responses being persistently developed and improved. A human body is involved in a growing variety of virtual and real actions, with the modern sports giving the means to modify both the internal and external corporeality vectors. In the efforts to adapt to the artificial environments offered by the modern technologies, every individual has to modify its natural systems. The inborn human functionality is largely underdeveloped in fact, and it is modern physical education that helps develop the natural potentialities as required by the modern lifestyles and needs. Socio-cultural environments of modern megalopolises, for instance, require certain lifestyles being cultivated with the modern sports playing an increasingly important role in the young people’s socialization and self-identification domains.

Identification function of modern sports is largely connected with the permanent strive for self-expression and self-perfection to expand the limits of own self. The self-cognition process naturally starts from the corporeality as a social quality rated and ranked versus the relevant socio-cultural standards. A corporeality concept implies some dualism and contradiction of the real and ideal body shape with the relevant dissatisfaction and natural strive for self-perfection. Modern sports are designed to help bridge this dualistic gap and overcome dissatisfaction with own self. The competitive aspect of modern sports sets the relevant standards for self-rating, self-control and perfection agendas focused on accomplishments and success. The relevant qualities are increasingly favoured by the modern civilization with its social success doctrine. Sporting activities in this context are increasingly considered as the social status demonstration means, with modern sports ranked by importance for the image-building agenda. Different sport disciplines may be differently valued by the relevant social-success-centred popular perceptions favoured by the local cultures.

Furthermore, it should be noted that modern entertainment social practices are playing an increasingly high role in the modern civilizations. Global transformations tend to modify popular lifestyles so as to form new socially favoured leisure-time models designed to bring, among other things, fun and pleasure. Modern sports in their different forms (mass, elite, Olympic, alternative sports etc.) may be interpreted as one of the hedonistic practices driven by fun and pleasure. Sports may generate a wide range of pleasures including joy from success, joy from excellent body control skills, joy from overcoming the limits of own self and weaknesses etc.; and, hence, modern sports may be described as the form of free creative activity that goes beyond the limits of everyday reality, offers exciting competitive and/or self-demonstrative experience and gives a feel of freedom of expression and joyful self-perfection and self-proving process – providing a happy alternative to the monotonous everyday life that inspires and colours it with pleasant emotions.

Aesthetic function of modern sports may be described as largely connected with the concept of beauty viewed as a special eternal value. The modern dynamically progressing world feels the growing need for internal cultural values with the relevant firm spiritual fundamentals including beauty as one of them. Aesthetic values of modern cultures imply the modern arts being expected to go beyond the traditional existence and reality to explore the new potentials via modern design, environmental practices of modernism, new environment-building (e.g. gardening) cultures, fashions etc. [3], with the modern sports ranked among the major means and ways for the anesthetisation of reality for the following reasons. First, as it has been mentioned before, modern sport practices help shape up the human body and this is one of the key motivations for the sport activists. Second, many modern sports (e.g. rhythmic gymnastics, ice dancing, figure skating, synchronised swimming etc.) give an organic and high priority to their aesthetic component. And, third, the growing popularity of modern sports effectively makes them a form of modern arts.

We should also mention the environmental function of modern sports that is increasingly important with evolution of modern technologies, destruction of natural environments and environmental risks to the very human civilization and existence; with the environmental effects of modern sports implying due health agenda and healthy lifestyles. Every individual is given a choice by the modern civilization: either to stick to the unhealthy and largely traditional lifestyles detrimental to the corporeality or radically oppose them by giving a special priority to sports in own system of life values and priorities.

Conclusion. The study considers functions of modern sports in the structure of modern social practices. Technologies of the modern civilization tend to modify the natural environments, social institutions and individuals. Sports as a social institution are viewed as creating a certain system of values and social practices (hedonistic, aesthetic and leisure-time ones) with the relevant self-identification and socialising priorities and functions. The socio-cultural resource of modern sports shall be applied to offer due provisions, resources and means for a civilized reproduction of every individual and social system on the whole.

References

1. Akchurin B.G. Chelovecheskaya telesnost: transtsendentalnaya suschnost i sotsialnyie aspekty ee identifikatsii [Human corporality: transcendental essence and social aspects of its identification]. Ufa: Gilem publ., 2005, 255 p.
2. Lubysheva L.I. V sbornike: Perspektivnye napravleniya v oblasti fizicheskoy kultury, sporta i turizma [In: Perspective directions in the field of physical culture, sports and tourism]. Materialy III Vserossiyskoy nauchno-prakticheskoy konferentsii [Proc. III Rus. res.-practical conference], 2013, pp. 198-205.
3. Mamedova N.M. Novy kulturny sintez sovremennosti [New cultural synthesis of modernity]. Vestnik Moskovskogo gorodskogo pedagogicheskogo universiteta. Seriya: Filosofskie nauki, 2014, no. 1 (9), pp. 21-28.
4. Stolyarov V.I. Sotsiologiya fizicheskoy kultury i sporta (vvedenie v problematiku i novaya kontseptsiya) [Sociology of Physical Culture and Sports (introduction to problems and new concept)]. Russian State Academy of Physical Culture. Humanitarian Center "Spart". Moscow, 2002, 368 p.

Corresponding author: natmam_5@mail.ru

Abstract

The study considers modern sports as a socio-cultural phenomenon in the context of modern challenges faced by the human civilization. Sports are viewed as both a individual perfection and progress tool and a social institution of the civilization-building and reproduction process. The study analyses a variety of sports functions in the modern social practices with a special priority to their axiological function that sets standards and guiding values of prime importance for the modern communities. The study considers corporeality as a universal cultural value; and the praxeological function of the modern sports as the self-transforming activity including the demand structure transformations as dictated by the sport axiology. Modern sports play a unique role in perfection of corporeality with no detriment to the human genetic fund. The study also found the modern sports being important for the personal and social identification. Competitive aspects of the modern sports facilitate the self-development components of the highest priority in the context of the growing social success agenda. Different modes of satisfaction with sports are analysed as the forms of free creative activity. The aesthetic function of modern sports is viewed as the way of aesthetics-driven perception of reality with its corporeality-perfection agenda and with the sports evolving into one of the forms of arts increasingly prioritizing the aesthetic component of athletic performance in many sport disciplines. The environmental function of the modern sports is focused on the health-protection and building, healthy lifestyle formation and human nature reproduction goals.