Abstract

Arguments for the viability of symbolic death and the potentiality of the death experience were developed. The conceptual relationship between existential freedom and death was established through an examination of three existential concepts, Heidegger's 'anxiety', Camus' 'revolt' and Sartre's 'nausea.' These concepts were utilized to present the existential concept of the relationship of death and freedom. Once the conceptual connection was established, application of the concept was made to the sport situation. It was determined that through the experience of symbolic death in sport, all six of the characteristics of existential freedom were available to the performer. Based on the analysis and application of existential concepts to the sport situation, it was demonstrated that through the experience of symbolic death in sport, man can come to an awareness of his existential freedom. This freedom not only has the ability to demonstrate to man what he is, but to provide a lucidity for man to see what he potentially could be. ;Following the examination of existential freedom, the development of sport as a separate and distinct 'world' was presented. One of the essential conditions for existential freedom was that it occurred within a 'world,' therefore, a determination of the conditions under which sport becomes a performer's 'world' was a prerequisite. These conditions included: a commitment to a particular goal or possibility chosen by the athlete; the "need to know" coupled with the intent of achieving the chosen goal; and, the attempt to actualize the goal. ;Chapter V examined the means by which the sport 'world' potentially can become a medium for man to become aware of his existential freedom through the experience of symbolic death. Symbolic death referred to the collapse of a particular 'world' toward which all engergies and goals had been directed and man's attitude toward this collapse. Three situations were identified in which symbolic death occurred in sport. These situations included: symbolic death which occurred after the achievement of a desired goal; symbolic death which occurred after the failure to achieve a desired goal; and, symbolic suicide which occurred after the athlete consciously removed himself from the sport situation prior to the actual completion of the event. ;Existential freedom was described as a phenomenon characterized by the following elements: Spontaneity, i.e., it arises from a sense of nothingness or is causeless; Choice, i.e., the process of deciding among future possibilities; Action, i.e., the attempt to actualize the chosen possibility; Self-determination; i.e., the awareness that man is the indisputable source of all his actions; Boundedness; i.e., the factual qualities of the world that lead to a conditional, worldly, and finite freedom; Responsibility, i.e., the ability to personally accept the consequences for choices and actions. ;The purpose of this study was the analysis and elucidation of the concept of existential freedom and its relationship to symbolic death in sport. In the development of existential freedom and death, concepts were drawn from existential literature and philosophy. Specifically, six writers were determined to be representative of existential thought including Soren Kierkegaard, Fyodor Dostoevsky, Martin Heidegger, Karl Jaspers, Albert Camus, and Jean-Paul Sartre