Epistemological and Aesthetic Issues within the Philosophy of Martial Arts

Abstract

In this article, the reader will find an introductory and non-exhaustive approach to epistemological and aesthetic issues “embodied” in the Martial Arts, in a way that a non-philosopher could follow the discussion, but with enough depth to interest a trained philosopher. The reader will also find suggestions on how to address some of these “embodied” issues using well-known philosophical theories or hybrid versions of them. More specifically, in Epistemology, we examine the relationships between knowing-that and knowing-how in martial practices, the connection between epistemic vices and virtues within the epistemic structure of martial communities, and how we can combine the teaching of falsificationism and epistemic virtues to combat vices within these structures. In Aesthetics, in turn, we deal with the problem of pointing out where the beauty lies in the practice of Martial Arts, touching on positions such as formalism, functionalism, and relativism, a metaphysical problem about the place of kata within the Martial Arts relating it to the possibility that kata are practices that can be classified as Proprioceptive Arts.