Homo Ludens: A Study of the Play-Element in Culture PDF

Rating: Author: Johan Huizinga ISBN : Product Detai New from Format: PDF

Download for free medical books PRETITLE Homo Ludens: A Study of the Play-Element in Culture [Kindle Edition] POSTTITLE from mediafire, rapishare, and mirror link In Homo Ludens, the classic evaluation of play that has become a “must-read” for those in game design, Dutch philosopher Johan Huizinga defines play as the central activity in flourishing societies. Like civilization, play requires structure and participants willing to create within limits. Starting with Plato, Huizinga traces the contribution of Homo Ludens, or “Man the player” through Medieval Times, the Renaissance, and into our modern civilization. Huizinga defines play against a rich theoretical background, using cross-cultural examples from the humanities, business, and politics. Homo Ludens defines play for generations to come.

"A happier age than ours once made bold to call our species by the name of Homo Sapiens. In the course of time we have come to realize that we are not so reasonable after all as the Eighteenth Century with its worship of reason and naive optimism, though us; "hence moder fashion inclines to designate our species asHomo Faber: Man the Maker. But though faber may not be quite so dubious as sapiens it is, as a name specific of the human being, even less appropriate, seeing that many animals too are makers. There is a third function, howver, applicable to both human and animal life, and just as important as reasoning and making—namely, playing. it seems to me that next to Homo Faber, and perhaps on the same level as Homo Sapiens, Homo Ludens, Man the Player, deserves a place in our nomenclature. "—from the Foreward, by Johan HuizingaDirect download links available for PRETITLE Homo Ludens: A Study of the Play-Element in Culture POSTTITLE

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• Table of Contents
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• File Size: 2090 KB
• Print Length: 244 pages
• Page Numbers Source ISBN: 0807046817
• Publisher: Beacon Press (June 1, 1971)
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
• Language: English
• ASIN: B001PSEQT2
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• X-Ray:
  Not Enabled
• Lending: Not Enabled
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #95,810 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)
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  • #82 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Nonfiction > Politics & Social Sciences > Social Sciences > Anthropology > Cultural
  • #87 in Books > Medical Books > Psychology > Social Psychology & Interactions
• #30 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Computers & Technology > Programming > Games
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• #87 in Books > Medical Books > Psychology > Social Psychology & Interactions

Homo Ludens: A Study of the Play-Element in Culture PDF

I am surprised that this book has garnered mixed reviews. I consider it the most important book about play, and I write that as the author of a number of books on game design.

Why is this book so important? First, it clearly differentiates between play and games; there is a great deal of play-activity that does not constitute game-playing. That differentiation is lost on many people. Second, it explores the concept of play from an astounding number of directions. The strongest analysis is the linguistic analysis, which considers how many different languages address the concept of play. The word "play" is one of the semantically broadest words in the English language. From terms such as 'gun play' to 'play' as a theatrical production to 'play' as the freedom of movement of a mechanical part to 'player' as a device that plays a recording, the notion of play has spread broadly and deeply into many different cultures, and the special emphases that different cultures place on the meaning of play itself reveals much about the concept. What we call a 'bastard' in English is a 'spielkind' in German: a "play-child". The Japanese language has an entire formal sublanguage for addressing certain sensitive topics. "I am sad to learn that your father is playing at being dead" would be a literal translation of this kind of language. What does that say about the concept of play in the human mind?

Huizinga offers many other brilliant insights into the nature of play in the human species. His observations on the idea of demarcating territory in which certain rules of play apply -- a royal court, a court of law, or a basketball court -- are eye-opening. We humans have a subjunctive sense that we explore with variations on play.