Homo Ludens by Johan Huizinga

Who are we as a species? Are the reasonable ones? Can we be defined by our unique use of reason? Does our reason justify future optimism about the state of the planet, or universe and our relationships to these?

Should we define ourselves by our abilities to manipulate and cause lasting and irreversible change to our environments?

Or should we instead define ourselves by a trait that we have in common with all mammals? Our reliance on play for a good life.

We often look for occupations that feel like play to us. This can include questions about time off, and questions about the nature of our contributions to a larger goal, one that is pursued by others. But are such questions only asked in the comfort of our modern age? Did the 19th century miner play while deep under the earth scratching for coal? Perhaps then,

Play is only a Cultural Phenomenon

• however, play existed before culture

  • culture presupposes human society,

  • animals play

    • the lion has been known to sometimes play with the gazellel

    • what about people who play during the course of their profession

      • sales associates making fun of a client

• play has meaning

  • psychologists have tried to understand play’s place in the scheme of life

    • utility of play as a function

    • discharge of energy

    • imitative instinct

    • need for relaxation

    • training for the young

    • exercise in restraint

  • abreaction

    • outlet for harmful impulses

    • restores energy wasted by one-sided activity

    • wish-fulfilment

    • fiction designed to ground personal value

• these assume that play serves a biological purpose and therefore are only partial solutions to the problem. They do not adequately define the nature of play which is aesthetic.

  • The aesthetic sense includes the sense of

    • passion

    • pleasure

    • absorption

    • intensity

    • tension

    • mirth

    • fun

• The aesthetic sense means that play as a concept cannot be reduced to any other mental categories

Nature and Significance of Play as a Cultural Phenomenon

Animals like humans, play. In appearance, animals, like humans experience fun and enjoyment when they play.

As such, it seems that play is more than a mere physiological phenomenon or a psychological reflex.

• experience enjoyment

• have fun

As such, play goes beyond the immediate needs of life and imparts meaning to the action

• meaning implies non-materialiistic importance.