Play, its boundaries, social meanings, freedom, imagination, and chance

The philosophy of play concerns activities people do for recreation, and play may happen at any life stage among higher-functioning animals, most notably mammals and birds. It explores why play can absorb people and how it relates to social meanings, freedom, imagination, and chance.

3 articles, 1 book · about 1 hr 30 min of reading and viewing

The reading path

1. Read
   

   the philosophy of play · Wikipedia · 33 min read

   In the philosophy of play, Johan Huizinga defines play as "a free activity standing quite consciously outside 'ordinary' life as being 'not serious' but at the same time absorbing the player intensely and utterly." It proceeds within its own proper boundaries of time and space according to fixed rules and in an orderly manner. Roger Caillois, a philosopher, wrote about play in his 1961 book Man, Play and Games. He interprets many social structures as elaborate forms of games and much behaviour as a form of play. Anji play is an educational method based on children's self-directed play outdoors with simple tools made of natural material. Created by Cheng Xueqin, it gives children two hours of free play to choose materials and build structures, making their own choices central to play.

2. Read
   American Journal of Play | Vol. 3 No. 2 | ARTICLE: Thomas S. Henricks: Caillois's Man, Play, and Games: An Appreciation and Evaluation | PDF · museumofplay.org · 54 min read

   Roger Caillois, a scholar of human play, argued that mimicry is an antiutilitarian "luxury": creatures can be said to possess an "instinct for abandonment," a desire to move into a "dark space" beyond routine functioning. Caillois also wrote that humans wish to attach themselves to images or resemblances of idealized personages and draw from them their powers.

3. Read
   

   Unity of Play: Diversity of Games | Diogenes | Cambridge Core · Cambridge Core · 3 min read

   A tradesman waits until the last minute to add the winning lot, an enticing sweet, to miniature lotteries popular near schools and in bakeries available to pupils after class. Children draw lots at varying prices for a piece of cake or candy, an example of play involving chance.

4. Book
   Homo Ludens: A Study of the Play-Element in Culture · Bookshop.org

   Homo Ludens, by Johan Huizinga, makes the case about play's importance in culture and society. In the author excerpt's section "Nature and significance of play as a cultural phenomenon," Huizinga notes that animals played before humans and that play's fun is one of its significant human and cultural aspects.

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