“体育是什么”一问居于当前体育哲学研究的核心，对其展开的本体论沉思形成了体育哲学的本体论思想与理论重建，具体体现为本体思维方式与本体论理论建构间的流变过程。作为两种基本的本体思维方式，“是之所‘是’”强调本体的概念规定，“是之为‘是’”注重本体的结构生成，二者在中西体育哲学思想史中形成了各自的本体论理论嬗变。西方体育哲学的分析哲学与欧陆哲学传统在两种本体思维方式区分下分别形成了“游戏说”与“身体说”体育哲学本体论说，中国传统哲学试图整合两种本体思维方式，形成了“目的说”与“人本说”的体育哲学本体论说。在中西哲学交融背景下的“人类学历史本体论”，将“所是”与“为是”两种本体思维方式融入人类历史与心理结构的生成过程，以此重构体育哲学的本体论研究和“问答”的思维方式，形成体育实践中人类普遍性知识，继而在形上之域整合人在面对体育实践时触发的“沉思”与“言说”的隔阂，完成对体育哲学理论与学科任务的重新考量。

The question of "What is sport?" is the core issue in the current research in philosophy of sport, on which the ontological meditation has formed the reconstruction of the thought and theory of sport philosophy embodied in the changing process between the ontological thinking mode and the construction of the ontological theory in general philosophy. As two basic ontological thinking modes, "Being" and "To be" are the logical development of the ontological thinking of sports philosophy. The former emphasizes the concept of ontology, while the latter emphasizes its structure. Both of them have formed their own ontological theory evolution in the history of Chinese and Western philosophy of sport. The Western analytical philosophy and the continental philosophy tradition respectively form the "game theory" and "body theory" on the ontological thinking on sport, while the Chinese traditional philosophy tries to mix the two ontological thinking modes to form the "purpose theory" and "humanism theory". Under the background of the integration of Chinese and Western philosophy, "anthropological historical ontology" integrates two ontological thinking modes of "Being" and "To be" into the generation process of human history and psychological structure, so as to reconstruct the ontological research on philosophy of sport and the exploration of the thinking mode of "question and answer", and establishes the human general knowledge in sports practice. Then, in the field of form, it steps across the gap lying between "meditation" and "speech" triggered by sports practice, and complete the reconsideration of sports philosophy theory and subject tasks.