Homo Ludens (book)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to: navigation, search Homo Ludens or "Man the Player" (alternatively, "Playing Man") is a ook !ritten in "#$% y &utch historian and cultural theorist Johan 'ui(inga) *t discusses the importance of the play element of culture and society) 'ui(inga suggests that play is primary to and a necessary (though not sufficient) condition of the generation of culture)

Contents
" +vervie! , -eception $ Fore!ord controversy . /ontents .)" *) 0ature and significance of play as a cultural phenomenon .)")" /haracteristics of play .), **) 1he play concept as e2pressed in language .),)" Play3category, play3concept, play3function, play3!ord in selected languages .)$ ***) Play and contest as civili(ing functions .). *4) Play and la! .).)" 1hree play3forms in the la!suit .)5 4) Play and !ar .)6 4*) Playing and kno!ing .)7 4**) Play and poetry .)% 4***) 1he elements of mythopoiesis .)# *8) Play3forms in philosophy .)"9 8) Play3forms in art .)"" 8*) Western civili(ation su specie ludi .)", 8**) Play3element in contemporary civili(ation 5 :uotations 6 ;ditions 7 <ee also % 0otes # -eferences

Overview
'ui(inga !rites a out play as the precursor and principal element of culture) 'e sees such varied topics as la!, !ar, poetry, philosophy and art as ased on or influenced y play)

Reception
Homo Ludens is an important part of the history of game studies) *t influenced later scholars of play, like -oger /aillois)

Foreword controversy
'ui(inga makes it clear in the fore!ord of his ook that he means the play element of culture, and not the play element in culture) 'e !rites that he titled the initial lecture the ook is ased on "1he Play ;lement of /ulture") 1his title !as repeatedly corrected to "in" /ulture, a revision he o =ected to) 1he ;nglish >eacon Press version modified the su title of the ook to "A Study of the PlayElement In Culture", contradicting 'ui(inga?s stated intention) 1he translator e2plains in a footnote in the Fore!ord, "Logically, of course, Huizinga is correct; but as English re ositions are not go!erned by logic " ha!e retained the more eu honious ablati!e in this sub-title#"

Contents
I. Nature and signi icance o p!ay as a cu!tura! p"enomenon
@Play is older than culture, for culture, ho!ever inadeAuately defined, al!ays presupposes human society, and animals have not !aited for man to teach them their playing)BC"D 'ui(inga egins y making it clear that animals played first) +ne of the most significant (human and cultural) aspects of play is that it is fun)C,D C"aracteristics o p!ay 1o set the scene of the play that he !ill unfold gradually, 'ui(inga identifies 5 characteristics that play must have: ") ,) $) .) 5) Play is free, is in fact freedom)C$D Play is not @ordinaryB or @realB life)C$D Play is distinct from @ordinaryB life oth as to locality and duration)C.D Play creates order, is order) Play demands order a solute and supreme)C5D Play is connected !ith no material interest, and no profit can e gained from it)C6D

II. #"e p!ay concept as e$pressed in !anguage

@Word and idea are not orn of scientific or logical thinking ut of creative language, !hich means of innumera le languagesEfor this act of FconceptionF has taken place over and over again)C7DB 'ui(inga has much to say a out the !ords for play in different languages) Perhaps the most e2traordinary remark concerns the Gatin language) @*t is remarka le that ludus, as the general term for play, has not only not passed into the -omance languages ut has left hardly any traces there, so far as * can see))) We must leave to one side the Auestion !hether the disappearance of ludus and ludere is due to phonetic or to semantic causes)BC%D +f all the possi le uses of the !ord "play" 'ui(inga specifically mentions the eAuation of play !ith, on the one hand, @serious strifeB, and on the other, @erotic applicationsB)C#D

%!ay&category' p!ay&concept' p!ay& unction' p!ay&word in se!ected !anguages 'ui(inga attempts to classify the !ords used for play in a variety of natural languages) 1he chapter title uses @play3conceptB to descri e such !ords) +ther !ords used !ith the "play3" prefi2 are play3 function and play3form) 1he order in !hich e2amples are given in natural languages is as follo!s: HreekC"9D ($) IJKLKM E pertaining to children?s games NOPQJ E associated !ith the idea of the trifling, the nugatory RST E for matches and contests <anskritC""D (.) krUdati E denoting the play of animals, children, adults divyati E gam ling, dicing, =oking, =esting, ))) vilVsa E shining, sudden appearance, playing and pursuing an occupation lUlayati E light, frivolous insignificant sides of playing /hineseC",D ($) !an E is the most important !ord covering children?s games and much much more cheng E denoting anything to do !ith contestsW corresponds e2actly to the Hreek agon) sai E organi(ed contest for a pri(e >lackfootC"$D (,) koani E all children?s games and surprisingly also in the erotic sense of "dallying" kachtsi E organi(ed play Japanese C".D (") aso u E is a single, very definite !ord, for the play function <emitic languages laXa (a root, cognate !ith laXat) E play, laughing, mocking laXi a (Yra ic) E playing in general, making mock of, teasingC"5D laXa (Yramaic) E laughing and mocking sahaA ('e re!) E laughing and playing Gatin (") ludus E from ludere, covers the !hole field of playC"6D

III. %!ay and contest as civi!i(ing unctions

@1he vie! !e take in the follo!ing pages is that culture arises in the form of play, that it is played from the very eginning))) <ocial life is endued !ith supra3 iological forms, in the shape of play, !hich enhances its value)BC"7D 'ui(inga does not mean that @play turns into cultureB) -ather, he sets play and culture side y side, talks a out their @t!in unionB, ut insists that @play is primaryB)C"7D

I). %!ay and !aw

@1he =udge?s !ig, ho!ever, is more than a mere relic of antiAuated professional dress) Functionally it has close connections !ith the dancing masks of savages) *t transforms the !earer into another F eingF) Ynd it is y no means the only very ancient feature !hich the strong sense of tradition so peculiar to the >ritish has preserved in la!) 1he sporting element and the humour so much in evidence in >ritish legal practice is one of the asic features of la! in archaic society)BC"%D #"ree p!ay& orms in t"e !awsuit 'ui(inga puts for!ard the idea that there are @three play3forms in the la!suit" and that these forms

can e deduced y comparing practice today !ith @legal proceedings in archaic society":C"#D ") the game of chance ,) the contest $) the ver al attle

). %!ay and war

@Zntil recently the Fla! of nationsF !as generally held to constitute such a system of limitation, recogni(ing as it did the ideal of a community !ith rights and claims for all, and e2pressly separating the state of !arE y declaring itEfrom peace on the one hand and criminal violence on the other) *t remained for the theory of Ftotal !arF to anish !ar?s cultural function and e2tinguish the last vestige of the play3element)BC,9D 1his chapter occupies a certain uniAue position not only in the ook ut more o viously in 'ui(inga?s o!n life) 1he first &utch version !as pu lished in "#$% ( efore the official out reak of World War **)) 1he >eacon Press ook is ased on the com ination of 'ui(inga?s ;nglish te2t and the Herman te2t, pu lished in <!it(erland "#..) 'ui(inga died in "#.5 (the year the <econd World War ended)) ") +ne !ages !ar to o tain a decision of holy validity)C,"D ,) Yn armed conflict is as much a mode of =ustice as divination or a legal proceeding)C,"D $) War itself might e regarded as a form of divination)C,,D 1he chapter contains some pleasantly surprising remarks: +ne might call society a game in the formal sense, if one ears in mind that such a game is the living principle of all civili(ation)C,$D *n the a sence of the play3spirit civili(ation is impossi le)C,.D

)I. %!aying and knowing

@For archaic man, doing and daring are po!er, ut kno!ing is magical po!er) For him all particular kno!ledge is sacred kno!ledgeEesoteric and !onder3!orking !isdom, ecause any kno!ing is directly related to the cosmic order itself)BC,5D 1he riddle3solving and death3penalty motif features strongly in the chapter) Hreek tradition: the story of the seers /halcas and Mopsos)C,6D

)II. %!ay and poetry

@Poiesis, in fact, is a play3function) *t proceeds !ithin the play3ground of the mind, in a !orld of its o!n !hich the mind creates for it) 1here things have a different physiognomy from the one they !ear in [ordinary lifeX, and are ound y ties other than those of logic and causality)BC,7D For 'ui(inga, the @true appellation of the archaic poet is !ates, the possessed, the Hod3smitten, the raving oneB)C,%D +f the many e2amples he gives, one might choose Znferd !ho appears in $eo%ulf) C,#D

)III. #"e e!ements o myt"opoiesis

@Ys soon as the effect of a metaphor consists in descri ing things or events in terms of life and movement, !e are on the road to personification) 1o represent the incorporeal

and the inanimate as a person is the soul of all myth3making and nearly all poetry)BC$9D Mythopoiesis is literally myth3making)C$"D

I*. %!ay& orms in p"i!osop"y

@Yt the centre of the circle !e are trying to descri e !ith our idea of play there stands the figure of the Hreek sophist) 'e may e regarded as an e2tension of the central figure in archaic cultural life !ho appeared efore us successively as the prophet, medicine3 man, seer, thaumaturge and poet and !hose est designation is !ates)B

*. %!ay& orms in art

@Wherever there is a catch3!ord ending in -ism !e are hot on the tracks of a play3 community)BC$,D 'ui(inga has already esta lished an indissolu le ond et!een play and poetry) 0o! he recogni(es that @the same is true, and in even higher degree, of the ond et!een play and musicBC$$D 'o!ever, !hen he turns a!ay from @poetry, music and dancing to the plastic artsB he @finds the connections !ith play ecoming less o viousB)C$.D >ut here 'ui(inga is in the past) 'e cites the e2amples of the @architect, the sculptor, the painter, draughtsman, ceramist, and decorative artistB !ho in spite of her\his @creative impulseB is ruled y the discipline, @al!ays su =ected to the skill and proficiency of the forming hand)"C$5D +n the other hand, if one turns a!ay from the @ma&ing of !orks of art to the manner in !hich they are received in the social milieuBC$6D then the picture changes completely) *t is this social reception, the struggle of the ne! "3ism" against the old "3ism" !hich characterises the play)

*I. +estern civi!i(ation sub specie !udi

@We have to conclude, therefore, that civili(ation is, in its earliest phases, played) *t does not come from play like a a y detaching itself from the !om : it arises in and as play, and never leaves it)BC$7D

*II. %!ay&e!ement in contemporary civi!i(ation

@*n Ymerican politics it Cthe play3factor present in the !hole apparatus of electionsD is even more evident) Gong efore the t!o3party system had reduced itself to t!o gigantic teams !hose political differences !ere hardly discerni le to an outsider, electioneering in Ymerica had developed into a kind of national sport)BC$%D 'ui(inga died in "#.5) 'ence his o servations on contemporary civili(ation in the final chapter of the ook date ack to the end of the <econd World War)

,uotations
"Man only plays !hen in the full meaning of the !ord he is a man, and he is only completely a man !hen he plays)" (+n the Yesthetic ;ducation of Man E Friedrich <chiller)C age neededD "Get my playing e my learning, and my learning e my playing)"C age neededD "*t is ancient !isdom, ut it is also a little cheap, to call all human activity ?play?) 1hose !ho

are !illing to content themselves !ith a metaphysical conclusion of this kind should not read this ook)" (from the Fore!ord, unnum ered page)

-ditions
'ui(inga, Johan ("#$%)) 'omo Gudens: Proeve ;ner >epaling 4an 'et <pelelement &er /ultuur) Hroningen, Wolters30oordhoff cop) "#%5) +riginal &utch edition) 'ui(inga, J) ("#.#)) 'omo Gudens: Y <tudy of the Play3;lement in /ulture) Gondon: -outledge ] ^egan Paul) 'ui(inga, Johan ("#55)) 'omo ludensW a study of the play3element in culture) >oston: >eacon Press) *<>0 #7%39%979.6%".)

.ee a!so
'omo fa er 'an, Play and (ames

Notes
") ,) $) .) 5) 6) 7) %) #) /ump up 0 'ui(inga "#55, p) " /ump up 0 'ui(inga "#55, p)$ _ Jump up to: a b 'ui(inga "#55, p)% /ump up 0 'ui(inga "#55, p)# /ump up 0 'ui(inga "#55, p)"9 /ump up 0 'ui(inga "#55, p)"$ /ump up 0 'ui(inga "#55, p),% /ump up 0 'ui(inga "#55, p)$6 /ump up 0 <tarting from his remark on Professor >uytendi=k?s use of the !ord @love3playB, 'ui(inga remarks that in his o!n opinion @it is not the act as such that the spirit of language tends to conceive as playW rather the road thereto, the preparation for and introduction to @loveB, !hich is often made enticing y all sorts of playing) 1his is particularly true !hen one of the se2es has to rouse or !in the other over to copulating)B 1oday one uses the !ord foreplay to descri e this @love3playB) 'ui(inga, "#55, p).$ "9)/ump up 0 'ui(inga "#55, p)$9 "")/ump up 0 'ui(inga "#55, p)$93" ",)/ump up 0 'ui(inga ackno!ledges the assistance of Professor &uyvendak?s @friendly help C!hich allo!s himD to say something a out the /hinese e2pressions for the play3functionB) 'ui(inga "#55, p)$, "$)/ump up 0 1he information on the >lackfoot language used y 'ui(inga comes from Professor /hristianus /ornelis Zhlen eck) 'ui(inga "#55, p$$) <ee the ook 'ontana )*))+ A Professor and his ,ife among the $lac&feet for further details ehind this contri ution of the >lackfoot *ndian language to 'omo Gudens) ".)/ump up 0 'ui(inga ackno!ledges the assistance of Professor Johannes -ahder, 'ui(inga "#55, p)$.) 'aving identified a single !ord, 'ui(inga then goes on to e2plain that the matter is more complicated, <pecifically, he mentions bushido (!hich !as enacted in play3forms) and later asobase-&otoba (literally play3language E for polite speech, the mode of address used in conversation !ith persons of higher rank)) "5)/ump up 0 'ui(inga makes a point of noting that this Yra ic !ord is used for the @playingB of a musical instrument, as in some modern ;uropean languages) 'ui(inga "#55, p$5) "6)/ump up 0 'ui(inga then makes a point of noting that -ocus, -ocari does not mean play proper in classical Gatin) 'ui(inga "#55, p$5) 1he primary reason for making this point here

is that later he shall note the disappearance of ludus to e supplanted y -ocus in the emergence of the -omance languages) "7)_ Jump up to: a b 'ui(inga "#55, p).6 "%)/ump up 0 'ui(inga "##5, p77) "#)/ump up 0 'ui(inga "#55, p%.) ,9)/ump up 0 'ui(inga "#55, p#9) ,")_ Jump up to: a b 'ui(inga "#55, p#") ,,)/ump up 0 0ote from the translator: @'ui(inga?s o!n ;nglish M<) replaces this third factor y Fthe cessation of normal social conditionsF)B 'ui(inga "#55, p#") ,$)/ump up 0 'ui(inga "#55, p"9939") ,.)/ump up 0 'ui(inga "#55, p"9") ,5)/ump up 0 'ui(inga "#55, p"95) ,6)/ump up 0 'ui(inga "#55, p"9#) &etails of the contest are not easy to come y) Just after the fall of 1roy, Mopsos meets /halcas) /halcas points to a fig tree and asks him: 'o! many figs are there on that fig tree over there` Mopsos ans!ers #W /halcas say %) /halcas is !rong and drops dead on the spot) <ym oles, mythes et lagendes &ate of last access ,99%3 9#3"9) ,7)/ump up 0 'ui(inga "#55, p)""# ,%)/ump up 0 'ui(inga "#55, p",9) ,#)/ump up 0 'ui(inga, p",") 1he spelling of Znferd is sometimes given as Znferth in other te2ts) $9)/ump up 0 'ui(ing "#55, p"$6) $")/ump up 0 +ne might !ish to consult related Wikipedia articles Mythopoeia and Mythopoeic thought) $,)/ump up 0 1he Auotation is taken from /hapter 8** 1he Play3element in /ontemporary /ivili(ation) *t seems appropriate to ring it for!ard to /hapter 8 Play3forms in Yrt to characteri(e the naturally occurring -isms of *mpressionism, /u ism and so on) +ne !onders if 'ui(inga also had in mind the politically occurring -isms of /ommunism, Fascism, -epu licanism, <ocialism and so on) 'ui(inga "#55, p),9$ $$)/ump up 0 'ui(inga "#55, p)"5% $.)/ump up 0 'ui(inga "#55, p)"65 $5)/ump up 0 'ui(inga "#55, p)"66 $6)/ump up 0 'ui(inga "#55, p)"6# $7)/ump up 0 'ui(inga "#55, p"7$) $%)/ump up 0 'ui(inga "#55, p),97

Re erences
") 'ui(inga, Johan) Homo Ludens) >eacon Press (June ", "#7")) *<>0 93%9793.6%"37 ,) 'ui(inga, Johan ("#55)) Homo ludens; a study of the lay-element in culture) >oston: >eacon Press) *<>0 #7%393%9793.6%"3.) $) <utton3smith, >rian (,99"), .he ambiguity of lay, /am ridge, Mass): 'arvard Zniversity Press, *<>0 #7%39367.3995%"35, +/G/ .669,"$7 .79$76"7 5#5.#76% .) Wilhelmina Maria Zhlen eck3Melchior, Mary ;ggermont3Molenaar, /hristianus /ornelius Zhlen eck, Ylice >eck ^ehoe, ^laas van >erkel, *nge HeneeW translation from &utch y Mary ;ggermont3Molenaar (,995), 'ontana )*))+ A Professor and his ,ife among the $lac&feet, /algary: Zniversity of /algary Press, *<>0 #7%3"355,$%3"".3., +/G/ "%977,#$6 69#56#99