ETHICAL DIMENSIONS OF DOPING IN SPORTS: THEORIES AND PERSPECTIVES

The ethical debate surrounding the use of performance-enhancing drugs in professional sports remains unresolved, with two dominant perspectives at its core: libertarianism and essentialism. Libertarians advocate for personal freedom and individual choice in using enhancement substances, whereas essentialists argue that such practices undermine the fundamental nature of sports. In 2009, William J. Morgan proposed a third ethical framework, known as the Treatment-Enhancement Distinction (TED). This perspective differentiates between the use of substances for therapeutic purposes and their use for enhancement, positioning this distinction as critical to resolving the debate over the permissibility of banned substances. This study explores whether Morgan’s TED framework offers a viable resolution to the ethical controversy or if the issue will remain perpetually unresolved.