Reflections on Play, Sport, and Culture

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.

Felix Lebed, Ph.D., is Head of the M.Ed. degree program in the Physical Education Department at Kaye Academic College of Education, Israel.

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)