Moving from physical literacy to co-existing physical literacies: What is the problem?

This paper examines the concept of physical literacy (PL) as a multiplicity of co-existing ideological positions or "cosmoses," rather than a singular unified concept. Through analysis of 167 scholarly articles and 23 non-scholarly texts, three distinct PL cosmoses are identified: (1) PL as health-promoting physical activity, focused on addressing global physical inactivity and improving health; (2) PL as motor competence, emphasizing fundamental movement skills to enhance sport participation and physical activity; and (3) PL as phenomenological embodiment, grounded in philosophical perspectives valuing the holistic human embodied experience. The authors propose understanding PL as a "multiverse" of physical literacies, each oriented toward solving different problems with unique objectives, actors, and obligations, thereby offering clarity for educators and researchers to align their practice with the appropriate PL cosmos without forcing consensus.