What Is the Essence of Sport?: A Redefinition Through Aristotelian Methodology

The question of how to define sport has long been at the heart of the philosophy of sport. Analytical approaches have traditionally sought to delineate its formal features, such as rule-governed competition, physicality, and skill. While these efforts have illuminated key aspects of sport, they have often fallen short of addressing its deeper purpose as a cultural and human practice. Definitions confined to formal criteria risk neglecting the richer dimensions of why sport exists and what it fundamentally seeks to achieve.