Play is battle and battle is play. Play is a thing by itself. Play and Contest as Civilizing Functions "In games of pure chance the tension felt by the player is only feebly communicated to the onlooker. In themselves, gambling games are very curious subjects for cultural research, but for the development of culture as such we must call them unproductive.
They are sterile, adding nothing to life or the mind. The picture changes as soon as play demands application, knowledge, skill, courage and strength. Objectively speaking, the result of the game is unimportant and a matter of indifference.
Pretium arose originally in the sphere of exchange and valuation, and presupposed a counter-value. Now while price remains bound to the sphere of economics, prize moves into that of play and competition, and praise acquires the exclusive signification of the Latin laus.
Semantically, it is next to impossible to delimit the field proper to each of the three words. What is equally curious is to see how the word wage, originally identical with gage in the sense of a symbol of challenge, moves in the reverse direction of pretium—i. We do not play for wages, we work for them. In the fable of the hare and the hedgehog, the beau role is reserved for the false player, who wins by fraud. Many of the heroes of mythology win by trickery or by help from without.
Such contracts as these, even though they had already taken on a purely commercial character, were repeatedly proscribed as illegal games of chance, amongst others by Charles V. At the election of a new Pope there was betting as at a horse-race to-day. We find traces of it everywhere. Together they enact, as it were, the public life of the tribe in a never-ending series of ceremonies precisely formulated and punctiliously performed.
The dualism that sunders the two halves extends over their whole conceptual and imaginative world. Hence it comes about that the beneficent result may equally well flow from games of pure chance as from games in which strength, skill or wit decide the issue. Luck may have a sacred significance; the fall of the dice may signify and determine the divine workings; by it we may move the gods as efficiently as by any other form of contest.
As a rule, we do not attribute much importance to them. Any important event will be the occasion for a potlatch—a birth, a death, a marriage, an initiation ceremony, a tattooing, the erection of a tomb, etc.
But the main thing is the distribution of goods. The feast-giver squanders the possessions of the whole clan. However, by taking part in the feast the other clan incurs the obligation to give a potlatch on a still grander scale. Should it fail to do so it forfeits its name, its honour, its badge and totems, even its civil and religious rights. It is to be assumed that originally the potlatch was always held between two phratriai. In the potlatch one proves one's superiority not merely by the lavish prodigality of one's gifts but, what is even more striking, by the wholesale destruction of one's possessions just to show that one can do without them.
It is rather a contest with moral weapons, a collision of offended honours, than an armed combat. All sorts of actions, some of the most singular nature, have a technical significance as marks of shame or honour for him who perpetrates or suffers them.
Thus, the contemptuous gesture of Remus in jumping over Romulus' wall at the dawn of Roman history constitutes, in Chinese military tradition, an obligatory challenge. The courtesy-match is nowhere as formalized, perhaps, as in China, but it is to be met with all over the world. Play and Law V. Play and War VI. Playing and Knowing VII. The Elements of Mythopoiesis IX. Play-Forms in Philosophy X. Play-Forms in Art XI. The Play-Element in Contemporary Civilization Jan 10, Taylor rated it it was ok.
As college students, how many of us ever made it through the entire "recommended reading" list for a class? And for a class with 17 recommended titles and "Homo Ludens" being the most difficult to acquire the vast University of Minnesota library system doesn't have a copy , even the most thorough of us could be forgiven for leaving it by the wayside.
But four years after taking the Toy Product Design class that cited Homo Ludens, I find myself helping to teach it, and I figured I ought to have a As college students, how many of us ever made it through the entire "recommended reading" list for a class?
But four years after taking the Toy Product Design class that cited Homo Ludens, I find myself helping to teach it, and I figured I ought to have a more complete knowledge of the background information. Unfortunately, I have to satisfy myself with giving it the old college try. The book is written as an almost stream-of-consciousness contemplation on the idea of play, and after giving a vague notion of his definition of the concept, Huizinga goes on to meander through related subjects without a clear hypothesis or point.
I will say that I thoroughly enjoyed the chapter on the concept of play as expressed in language. I nearly went for a linguistics minor in college, and the chapter on other ideas expressed through words related to play and their possible connection to the "play-concept" fascinated me. In this chapter, Huizinga gets closest to making any kind of cogent argument: the words for play in many languages refer both to a specific kind of recreational or ritual activity that he defines as the "play-concept" and to rapid or capricious movements of objects, systems, or creatures.
After that chapter, my interest in the book rapidly declined as successive topics were abruptly discarded, as by a toddler who has seen something even more colorful across the room. I didn't finish the book; my attention span is perhaps no more blameworthy than Huizinga's. Perhaps the final chapter neatly wrapped up all categories of study and contemplations with a cohesive conclusion.
I haven't the patience to find out. Oct 27, Arturo Herrero rated it liked it. The main premise of Homo Ludens is that play is primary to and a necessary though not sufficient condition of the generation of culture. The fact that play and culture are actually interwoven with one another was neither observed nor expressed, whereas for us the whole point is to show that genuine, pure play is one of the main bases of civilisation. Institutions such as religion, law, government, and the armed forces originally started as play-forms, or games, and only gradually did they becom The main premise of Homo Ludens is that play is primary to and a necessary though not sufficient condition of the generation of culture.
Institutions such as religion, law, government, and the armed forces originally started as play-forms, or games, and only gradually did they become rigid and serious. Spontaneous order Hayek. According to this criterion, ritual and mimesis, sports, games and theatrical performances emancipated man from their animal bonds, during those primitive ceremonies in which man played at being another kind of animal Mumford.
Huizinga also introduces the concept of the magic circle , a specially marked space that separates a game from the rest of the world. Players of a game step across this boundary into the magic circle, and by doing so voluntarily suspend the rules of the real world and accept the rules of the game.
Intriguing, readable book. I can easily see why it was a pathbreaking book when it was published over 60 years ago, and definitely more interesting than most metahistories. I think the key insight that the nature of play as something that was apart from other functions became the model for much of the key features of civilization is well taken, and it is intriguing to see him work with so much different material, including cultures beyond Europe to make his point.
Almost 70 years on the point ab Intriguing, readable book. Almost 70 years on the point about modern cultures both taking play to a new level with professional sports and in other way blurring the lines between play and other lives seems to have aged well. I can't help thinking that the breakdown of "accepted rules" in politics is one of the reasons we are where we are today, and I say that without laying blame on a particular party -- all have at times placed winning over long-standing accepted rules.
Mar 15, FiveBooks rated it it was amazing Shelves: fivebooks-on-video-games. Sep 01, Avery rated it liked it. The first chapter of this book is decent -- a slightly philosophical view of the importance of play. The rest is scholarly and now outdated ethnography. For a book that asserts that the best things in life revolve around play, you'd think it could be more It does make a good alternative to postmodern nonsense that emphasizes a deadened "performance" without a play element.
It's not a useless book and might provide you some insight, but I'd rather read G. Chesterton who i The first chapter of this book is decent -- a slightly philosophical view of the importance of play. Chesterton who is playful at all times. Sep 19, Chrissa rated it liked it. While the central definition of play and the ideas spun from this were revelatory, each idea had to be excavated from text that didn't offer a recognizable through-line and was therefore a less than pleasant read.
Apr 26, Jason rated it it was amazing Shelves: history. This is a fascinating book, looking at the play element of culture. Huizinga goes on a whirlwind tour of many societies, showing how the concept of play is an important facet of human culture.
It took me so long to read it, that being at the end I already forgot what was the start about. Jun 26, Sam rated it really liked it Shelves: anthropology , favorites , history , politics , classics , poetry , philosophy , humour , non-fiction. First published in in German in , in English translation in my edition prepared from the German , Huizinga great name - a Dutchman presents 12 or XII chapters of historical, anthropological and sociological analysis of the play instinct.
Homo Ludens, latin for Man the player, works on the idea of the Agon, or the idea of matches and contests as the epitome of the nature of play. Huizinga roams back to Ancient Greece and Rome, also using the now anachronistic language of 'primit First published in in German in , in English translation in my edition prepared from the German , Huizinga great name - a Dutchman presents 12 or XII chapters of historical, anthropological and sociological analysis of the play instinct.
Huizinga roams back to Ancient Greece and Rome, also using the now anachronistic language of 'primitives' to describe tribal and first nations people with some nevertheless insightful analyses of the connection of play with 'civilisation'.
Huizinga's obvious admiration for classical Chinese culture and examination of the roots the word 'play' in most European languages from ancient Indian language forms manages to be both full of praise and slightly patronising to both great cultures. If you can move past the European chauvinism, it is worth the effort, for Huizinga's masterful grasp of Western culture, as he dives deep into medieval, and Renaissance, features of play.
He obviously has a strong interest in philology the study of the origins and structure of words and covers different definitions of play in different global cultures. From Law and War, to Art and Philosophy, Huizinga turns over the Ludic play concept with the thoroughness of a lapidary a jeweller.
Not always an easy read, and I suspect some things are lost in translation, but overall, worth the time - has certainly broadened and deepened my concept of play, the inclusions and contradictions. Huizinga is ultimately self critical of the current state of Western culture, and yet nicely ties together the varied manifestations and reversals of the agonistic impulse in humans.
I found the Homo Luden's title referenced in 'Addiction by Design: Machine gambling in Los Vegas' by Schull, and purchased it with an eye towards it possibly contributing to my hobby of board game design.
Board games are only mentioned in the final chapter in passing. There were only a couple of direct comments about gambling games that I picked up, which Huizinga calls unproductive: "They are sterile, offering nothing to the life of the mind" p. Mar 28, Camilo Ignacio rated it really liked it Shelves: work-non-fiction.
I read this book to have a deeper understanding on games and play, and how they create and can be applied to gamification, so my approach was very utilitarian which is not the focus of the book. The book is a very thorough philosophical and sociological study as well as old written in on how the play-element defined in the first chapter , first becomes culture through the sphere of rituals and the ceremonial, and then how this branches out to every sphere of society from warfare to art, I read this book to have a deeper understanding on games and play, and how they create and can be applied to gamification, so my approach was very utilitarian which is not the focus of the book.
The book is a very thorough philosophical and sociological study as well as old written in on how the play-element defined in the first chapter , first becomes culture through the sphere of rituals and the ceremonial, and then how this branches out to every sphere of society from warfare to art, politics and law.
It was not an easy reading, it took me time to complete since the essay is full of examples taken from the most archaic and unknown tribes and civilizations which made me lose track of the main ideas at some points.
However, it is very well written and with the exception of a couple of chapters, that I considered didn't add much to the argument, every passage has an interesting takeout that can be rethought, analyzed, and even applied to current times which makes me recommend this book for both its utilitarian value as applied to modern business and design, and its pure academic and intellectual richness.
Dec 28, Natty S rated it really liked it. While Huinzinga doesn't think play has much to do with sex one can only imagine how boring his sex life must be!
That, indeed, civilization can't happen without play. To be sure, this is a very dated work written originally in the late s, so lots of condescending comments about Became interested in Huizinga based on a thread at FetLife about the role of play in BDSM and he did not disappoint. To be sure, this is a very dated work written originally in the late s, so lots of condescending comments about "savages" and "primitive man" that were typical of the time.
But this is a very thoughtful work that is, at times, poetic and mostly accessible can't tell if the times the language gets overly pretentious are down to the translator or Huizinga. And his argument that American politics are all about play and spectacle could not be more accurate. I'm doing research on video game critique, and many authors in that field refer back to this book as a key text, a primer, for their studies.
This book is a very thorough examination of "play" and "games" across history and cultures, and has some genuinely fascinating sections. The part about how different languages express these concepts was most interesting to me, demonstrating different perspectives on things we take for granted. It was hard for me to overlook the book's flaws, however. There I'm doing research on video game critique, and many authors in that field refer back to this book as a key text, a primer, for their studies.
There are odd digressions that are more like the author's interests or gripes rather than key elements of this study, such as the fixation on the historical importance of wigs, and the author's distaste for the game of bridge?
Most of all, I couldn't help but cringe at the many oblique references to cultures the author deems "primitive" or "savage. The author researches the role of the play in the culture's formation. He made a good job of finding the influence of the game in every aspect of life. Nothing of what he said seems farfetched but, at some point, it began to look like cheery-picking.
He openly and sincerely shows his biases without even trying to hide them. Homo Ludens: a study of the play element in culture was written in by Johan Huizinga , a Dutch historian who lived from to His book suggested the instinct for play as the central element in human culture and examined the role of play in law, war, science, poetry, philosophy, and art. The title, Homo Ludens, translates to mean Man the Player. All are rooted in the primaeval soil of play.
Play demands order or the game is spoiled. There is an element of tension and solution that governs games as well as fairness, since all play has rules that underlies its success in keeping the game going.
Huizinga debates this in the distinction between the musical arts and plastic crafts to argue that while performance is a type of free play which may rely upon expertise and training, the training or crafting of skill or a piece of art is work.
In this distinction, the showing of a painting might be play, but the production of it is labour. When we enter into play, we agree to play by explicit or implied rules, which are often different to those we normally follow. These rules are rules of behaviour as well as of material significance. For example, the idea of taking turns, and that everyone shall have a turn to act or speak is a frequent unwritten rule of most conversational games. The use of physical tokens to represent action is another frequent rule, along with details such as how many tokens a player has and how actions through them may be performed.
The setting aside of play as a distinct practice is closely related to the understanding of the specific order and binding rules of play. We allow ourselves the freedom to step outside of that space or time, whether loser or victor, and return to a different set of rules of behaviour.
Those who breach the boundaries are contemptuous, spoil-sports or barbarians, and are swiftly excluded. This is one of the main reasons why play can be so satisfying, as we sometimes need to enter a space where the rules are different to everyday life — fairer or more clearly specified, in order to explore why some practices have been successful or unsuccessful.
Although gambling and risk-taking are identified by Huizinga as key to understanding the tension and excitement of play, play is nonetheless non-purposeful. Huizinga compares professional and amateur sports in this respect, highlighting that once the playing of a game is subservient to a material interest it no longer can be understood as pure play. However, in conjunction with the concept of the magic circle, it remains possible to identify play as having serious and material consequences without necessarily invalidating its status.
Huizinga explores a wide range of social activities in Homo Ludens that we might not identify as play. He also points out the importance of play to ceremony and performance. Both dance and music are play performances, though we would not often think of these as we do games. This highlights how the practice of giving away high-value items conveys a message regarding the wealth and virtue of the gift-giver, and places an obligation on the receiver to reciprocate, or in the case of the destruction of property, to compete.
The expression of excessive politeness is a comparable reversed game to that of the boasting match, in which each participant strives to be more courteous than the other. Just as there are forms of contest based on chance, dexterity or physical ability, Huizinga points out the common occurrence of knowledge contests in history and myth.
In Homo Ludens , Huizinga focuses on the role of wordplay and riddles in schooling particular types of thinking or expertise. The answer to an enigmatic question is not found by reflection or logical reasoning.
0コメント