The Philosophy of Play by Ryall, Emily; Russell, Wendy; MacLean, Malcolm;

Short description:

The main objective of The Philosophy of Play is to provide a richer understanding of the concept and nature of play and its relation to human life and value, and to build disciplinary and paradigmatic bridges between scholars of philosophy and scholars of play. Including specific chapters dedicated to children and play, and exploring the work of key thinkers such as Plato, Sartre, Wittgenstein, Gadamer, Deleuze and Nietzsche, this book is invaluable reading for any advanced student, researcher or practitioner with an interest in education, playwork, leisure studies, applied ethics or the philosophy of sport.

Long description:

Play is a vital component of the social life and well-being of both children and adults. This book examines the concept of play and considers a variety of the related philosophical issues. It also includes meta-analyses from a range of philosophers and theorists, as well as an exploration of some key applied ethical considerations.

The main objective of The Philosophy of Play is to provide a richer understanding of the concept and nature of play and its relation to human life and value, and to build disciplinary and paradigmatic bridges between scholars of philosophy and scholars of play. Including specific chapters dedicated to children and play, and exploring the work of key thinkers such as Plato, Sartre, Wittgenstein, Gadamer, Deleuze and Nietzsche, this book is invaluable reading for any advanced student, researcher or practitioner with an interest in education, playwork, leisure studies, applied ethics or the philosophy of sport.

"I am sure that many other scholars and practitioners of play may be enchanted by reading here and there in this much welcome and highly commendable, and recommendable, work of play and play of work. The Philosophy at Play conference organizers and book editors, Emily Ryall, Wendy Russell, and Malcolm Maclean deserve high praise in deed for their great efforts in reviving play." – Ejgil Jespersen, Jozef Pilsudski University of Physical Education, idrottsforum.org

Table of Contents:

Introduction  1. A Pluralist Conception of Play  2. All the World’s A Stage: Childhood and the Play of Being  3. Playing with Words: Further Comment on Suits’ Definition  4. Playing Well: Wittgenstein’s Language-Games and the Ethics of Discourse  5. Gadamer and the Game of Dialectic in Plato’s Gorgias  6. Gadamer and the Game of Understanding: Dialogue-Play and Opening to the Ot  7. Language at Play. Games and the Linguistic Turn after Wittgenstein and Gadamer  8. Whoever Cannot Give, Also Receives Nothing: Nietzsche’s Playful Spectator  9. Play and Being in Jean-Paul Sartre’s Being and Nothingness  10. Passion Play: Play, Free Will and the Sublime  11. Playing in a Deleuzian playground  12. ‘We Sneak off to Play What we Want!’ Bakhtin’s Carnival and Children’s Play  13. What’s Play Got to Do with the Information Age?  14. Towards a Spatial Theory of Playwork: What Can Lefebvre Offer as a Response to Playwork’s Inherent Contradictions?  15. To Play or to Parent? An Analysis of the Adult-Child Interaction in Make-Believe Play  16. Game Over: Calling Time on Kidult Accounts of Masculinity