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The psychological dependence of humanity on playing is huge. Its nature and functional utility are unclear. These linked yet contradictory issues have created the intrigue that has fed philosophical thought for more than two hundred years. During this period, philosophy transferred many of the subjects of its analysis to the aegis of the humanities that it spawned. Each of them pays close attention to human play and studies it with its own methods of theoretical and experimental research. Thus, what was once a general philosophical comprehension of human play has branched out into different directions, definitions, and theories. This new book represents a renewed general view of human play. The unique quality of the volume lies in its fairly rare interdisciplinary methodology, encompassing a broad spectrum of the humanities: philosophy, anthropology, sociology, and the history of play, and behavioral analysis of playing, which have been done by the author. As a result, the volume ends with the proposition of a new general approach to human play that is named by the author "play field theory". Such an approach makes reflections on play, sport, and culture a source for all scholars studying play, by widening their knowledge through both a new general view and their familiarization with notions from neighboring fields and disciplines.
List of contents
Part I: The idea of play
Chapter 1: "Slow-moving" Philosophy of Play
Usefulness of Play before Philosophical Comprehension
First Steps Toward Philosophy: Functionalism as a Key for Explanations of Human Play
Bibliography
Chapter 2: Principal Definability of Play
Introduction
Play, Games, and Sports in the English Language (a Cultural-anthropological View)
Reflection of Human Play in Different Languages in the 20th and 21st Centuries
The Wittgensteinian Obstacle
Bibliography
Chapter 3: Definition of Play as Escape
Introduction
Qualitative Content Analysis of Philosophical Ideas about Human Play
Discussion
Bibliography
Chapter 4: Sport is Play Too
Introduction
The Diversity of the Concept of Sport in English Cultural Tradition
Is Physical Activity Necessary and Sufficient for a Definition of Sport?
Sport as Play and Game
Officialization and Unproductiveness as Necessary Characteristics of Sport
Bibliography
Part II: "Contemplation" of Play and Games Playing
Introduction to Part II
Chapter 5: Games' Typologies
Common and Unique in Games Humans Play
Typologies of Games by Aims and Forms of Playing
Three-measure Taxonomy of Games and Sports
Bibliography
Chapter 6: Ways Moving from Games to Sports
Introduction
Crystallization
Inventing Games by Developing and Adopting Original Ideas
"Natural selection"
Bibliography
Chapter 7: Key Characteristics of an Invasive Game
Mutually Active Conflict between Sides
"Perturbation" and a Personal Space-time in Invasive Games
Bibliography
Part III: Play and Society
Introduction to Part III
Chapter 8. Social Person in Play
Introduction
"Being There": Kinds of Human Play in Different Behavioral Environments
Personal vs. Individual Play
Emergent Indeterminacy: Hidden Flows of Small Groups Playing
Wanted Suspense: Large Groups Playing
Conclusions
Bibliography
Chapter 9. Masses in Play
Introduction
Play and Social Communication in Ancient Sacral Ritual
Play in Sacral Mysteries
Festival vs. Carnival Play in the Grandstands
Summary
Bibliography
Chapter 10. Sports Spectators and Fans in Play
Accepted Typologies of Sport Spectators
New Typology of Sport Spectators as "players": Empirical Research
Appendix: Questionnaire for Spectators and Fans
Bibliography
Chapter 11: Professional Sport in Symbiosis with Fans
Introduction
From play to Meta-sport
Dialectics in the Transformations of Professional Sport
Bibliography
Afterword: Introduction to the Play Field Theory (PFT)
About the author
Felix Lebed, Ph.D., is Head of the M.Ed. degree program in the Physical Education Department at Kaye Academic College of Education, Israel.
Summary
This book represents a renewed general view of human play with an interdisciplinary methodology, encompassing philosophy, anthropology, sociology, and the history of play and behavioural analysis of playing.
