Play and Aesthetics in Ancient Greece

Explores the connections between art and play in ancient Greek thought, especially that of Plato and Aristotle.

List of contents

Acknowledgments; List of abbreviations; Introduction; 1. The Pais of Paiz¿: children, intoxication, and play in ancient psycho-physiology; 2. Why Plato needs play; 3. Plato's play and the tragic paradox; 4. What do pleasure-objects do? An inquiry into toys; 5. Aristotle's demotion of play; 6. Play vs. mimesis in Aristotle's aesthetics; 7. Serious play as goal-oriented play; 8. The value of serious things before and after death; Conclusions: toward a pleasure-model of play; Bibliography; Index.

About the author

Stephen E. Kidd is Robert Gale Noyes Assistant Professor of Classics at Brown University, Rhode Island, where his work focuses on ancient Greek literature and culture, especially that of the classical period. He is the author of Nonsense and Meaning in Ancient Greek Comedy (Cambridge, 2014) as well as articles on the meanings of Greek words, ancient games, science, and what Herodotus has to say about virtual worlds.

Summary

What is art's relationship to play? Those interested in this question tend to look to modern philosophy for answers. But, as this book shows, the question was already debated in antiquity by luminaries like Plato and Aristotle. This book contextualizes those debates, and demonstrates their significance for theoretical problems today.

Product details

• Authors: Stephen E. Kidd, Stephen E. (Brown University Kidd, Kidd Stephen E.
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press ELT
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Released: 30.06.2019
• EAN: 9781108492072
• ISBN: 978-1-108-49207-2
• No. of pages: 244
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > Philosophy > General, dictionaries; Non-fiction book > Philosophy, religion > Philosophy: antiquity to present day; Ancient Greece, PHILOSOPHY / History & Surveys / Ancient & Classical, Philosophy: aesthetics, Ancient History, Classical history / classical civilisation, Ancient Greek and Roman philosophy, Western philosophy: Ancient, to c 500