We have witnessed many intriguing social phenomena at the turn of the 20th and 21st centuries. Researchers of physical culture and sport, especially those interested in philosophical and social aspects of events, are likely to come across many surprising situations resulting from the dynamic development of social reality. Sport has undoubtedly become one of the factors that have a great influence on numerous social occurrences. From among various phenomena related to sport the author analyses the one which has riveted the attention of many people interested in sport - the stigmatization of contemporary sport by hooliganism. This problem may seem to concern mainly football (Am. soccer), but unfortunately it occurs in other disciplines as well. Although the phenomenon reaches the edges of sport and is still just within its margins, it appears necessary to conduct thorough research on it.
The aim of the article is the presentation of the philosophical approach towards the human body against a background of broader culture and social context. In ancient Greece, the corporeal nature of man was a category strongly linked with a precisely understood form physical culture, including both philosophy and medicine and what we would call today ‘physiotherapy’. In antiquity, rank and a person's social status was assessed not only by the quantity of material goods owned, but also by the superiority of one's body and their fitness level; the physical form. Those who were disabled were disposed of or outcast. The human body was treated as a kind of identification card, which contributed to the development of numerous social divisions. This paradigm was supported both in practice and theory by such outstanding thinkers as: Aristotle, Plato, Socrates, Hippocrates, Pythagoras and Diogenes of Sinope.
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