Man, Play and Games
Encyclopedia
Man, Play and Games is a 1961 book
, and the seminal work of the French Sociologist Roger Caillois
, a translation of Les jeux et les hommes (1958). It is an influential book on the sociology of play
and game
s, or rather in Caillois' terms sociology derived from play. Caillois sees many of the structures in society as elaborate forms of games and many behaviours as forms of play.
Caillois builds on the theories of Johan Huizinga
and disputes many of them, adding a more comprehensive review of play forms. Caillois is critical of Huizinga's over-emphasis on competition in play. He also notes the considerable difficulty in defining play, concluding that play is best described by six core characteristics. These are: that it is free, or not obligatory; that it is separate (from the routine of life) occupying its own time and space; that it is uncertain so that the results of play cannot be pre-determined and so that the player's initiative is involved; that it is unproductive in that it creates no wealth and ends as it begins; that it is governed by rules that suspend ordinary laws and behaviours and that must be followed by players; and that it involves make-believe that confirms in players the existence of imagined realities that may be set against 'real life'. This 'escapist' definition is open to later critique, for example in Sutton-Smith's
(1997) review of play the idea that individuals in a leisure-based Western culture are 'free' to play is questioned in light of an apparent obligation to spend leisure time 'wisely'. Similarly, we might consider that play forms are subject to considerable social pressures and we might note the economic significance of leisure and media as forms of play. The result is that despite Caillois' attempt at a thorough review, definitions of play remain open to negotiation.
Caillois argues that we may understand the complexity of games by referring to four play forms and two types of play. The four forms are:
Games and play combine these elements in various ways.
Examples:
Caillois also places forms of play on a continuum from ludus, structured activities with explicit rules (games), to paidia, unstructured and spontaneous activities (playfulness), although in human affairs the tendency is always to turn paidia into ludus, and that established rules are also subject to the pressures of paidia. It is this process of rule-forming and re-forming that may be used to account for the apparent instability of cultures.
Like Huizinga, Caillois sees a tendency for a corruption of the values of play in modern society as well as for play to be institutionalised in the structures of society. For example agon is seen as a cultural form in sports, in an institutional form as economic competition and as a corruption in violence and trickery; Alea is seen as a cultural form in lotteries and casinos, as an institutional form in the stock market and as a corruption in superstition and astrology; mimicry is seen as cultural form in carnivals and theatre, as institutional form in uniforms and ceremonies and as corruption in forms of alienation; and ilinx is seen as cultural form in climbing and skiing, as institutional form in professionals requiring control of vertigo and as corruption in drugs and alcoholism.
Book
A book is a set or collection of written, printed, illustrated, or blank sheets, made of hot lava, paper, parchment, or other materials, usually fastened together to hinge at one side. A single sheet within a book is called a leaf or leaflet, and each side of a leaf is called a page...
, and the seminal work of the French Sociologist Roger Caillois
Roger Caillois
Roger Caillois was a French intellectual whose idiosyncratic work brought together literary criticism, sociology, and philosophy by focusing on subjects as diverse as games, play and the sacred...
, a translation of Les jeux et les hommes (1958). It is an influential book on the sociology of play
Play (activity)
Play is a term employed in ethology and psychology to describe to a range of voluntary, intrinsically motivated activities normally associated with pleasure and enjoyment...
and game
Game
A game is structured playing, usually undertaken for enjoyment and sometimes used as an educational tool. Games are distinct from work, which is usually carried out for remuneration, and from art, which is more often an expression of aesthetic or ideological elements...
s, or rather in Caillois' terms sociology derived from play. Caillois sees many of the structures in society as elaborate forms of games and many behaviours as forms of play.
Caillois builds on the theories of Johan Huizinga
Johan Huizinga
Johan Huizinga , was a Dutch historian and one of the founders of modern cultural history.-Life:Born in Groningen as the son of Dirk Huizinga, a professor of physiology, and Jacoba Tonkens, who died two years after his birth, he started out as a student of Indo-Germanic languages, earning his...
and disputes many of them, adding a more comprehensive review of play forms. Caillois is critical of Huizinga's over-emphasis on competition in play. He also notes the considerable difficulty in defining play, concluding that play is best described by six core characteristics. These are: that it is free, or not obligatory; that it is separate (from the routine of life) occupying its own time and space; that it is uncertain so that the results of play cannot be pre-determined and so that the player's initiative is involved; that it is unproductive in that it creates no wealth and ends as it begins; that it is governed by rules that suspend ordinary laws and behaviours and that must be followed by players; and that it involves make-believe that confirms in players the existence of imagined realities that may be set against 'real life'. This 'escapist' definition is open to later critique, for example in Sutton-Smith's
Brian Sutton-Smith
Brian Sutton-Smith is a play theorist who has spent his lifetime attempting to discover the cultural significance of play in human life, arguing that any useful definition of play must apply to both adults and children. He demonstrates that children are not innocent in their play and that adults...
(1997) review of play the idea that individuals in a leisure-based Western culture are 'free' to play is questioned in light of an apparent obligation to spend leisure time 'wisely'. Similarly, we might consider that play forms are subject to considerable social pressures and we might note the economic significance of leisure and media as forms of play. The result is that despite Caillois' attempt at a thorough review, definitions of play remain open to negotiation.
Caillois argues that we may understand the complexity of games by referring to four play forms and two types of play. The four forms are:
- AgonAgonAgon is an ancient Greek word with several meanings:*In one sense, it meant a contest, competition, especially the Olympic Games , or challenge that was held in connection with religious festivals....
, or competition. E.g. ChessChessChess is a two-player board game played on a chessboard, a square-checkered board with 64 squares arranged in an eight-by-eight grid. It is one of the world's most popular games, played by millions of people worldwide at home, in clubs, online, by correspondence, and in tournaments.Each player...
is an almost purely agon game. - AleaAlea* ALEA , a Web Desktop Management Tool* ALEA Ensemble, Austrian ensemble for contemporary music* Alea , originally a game-publishing subsidiary of Ravensburger, now purchased by Heidelburger...
, or chance. E.g. Playing a slot machineSlot machineA slot machine , informally fruit machine , the slots , poker machine or "pokies" or simply slot is a casino gambling machine with three or more reels which spin when a button is pushed...
is an almost purely alea game. - Mimicry, or mimesis, or role playing.
- IlinxIlinxIlinx is a kind of play, described by sociologist Roger Caillois, a major figure in game studies. Ilinx creates a temporary disruption of perception, as with vertigo, dizziness, or disorienting changes in direction of movement....
(Greek for "whirlpool"), or vertigoVertigo (medical)Vertigo is a type of dizziness, where there is a feeling of motion when one is stationary. The symptoms are due to a dysfunction of the vestibular system in the inner ear...
, in the sense of altering perception. E.g. taking hallucinogens, riding roller coasterRoller coasterThe roller coaster is a popular amusement ride developed for amusement parks and modern theme parks. LaMarcus Adna Thompson patented the first coasters on January 20, 1885...
s, children spinning until they fall down
Games and play combine these elements in various ways.
Examples:
- PokerPokerPoker is a family of card games that share betting rules and usually hand rankings. Poker games differ in how the cards are dealt, how hands may be formed, whether the high or low hand wins the pot in a showdown , limits on bet sizes, and how many rounds of betting are allowed.In most modern poker...
features both alea, the random shuffling of cards, and agon, the strategic decisions of discarding cards and betting. - Collectible card games combine alea (the random shuffling of decks and the distribution of cards in booster packs), agon (competition with rules and strategies) and mimesis (cards refer to imaginary beings the player controls in a fictional world).
- Dancing is an ilinx activity, which can be combined with mimesis to portray characters, or with agon in competitive dance.
Caillois also places forms of play on a continuum from ludus, structured activities with explicit rules (games), to paidia, unstructured and spontaneous activities (playfulness), although in human affairs the tendency is always to turn paidia into ludus, and that established rules are also subject to the pressures of paidia. It is this process of rule-forming and re-forming that may be used to account for the apparent instability of cultures.
Like Huizinga, Caillois sees a tendency for a corruption of the values of play in modern society as well as for play to be institutionalised in the structures of society. For example agon is seen as a cultural form in sports, in an institutional form as economic competition and as a corruption in violence and trickery; Alea is seen as a cultural form in lotteries and casinos, as an institutional form in the stock market and as a corruption in superstition and astrology; mimicry is seen as cultural form in carnivals and theatre, as institutional form in uniforms and ceremonies and as corruption in forms of alienation; and ilinx is seen as cultural form in climbing and skiing, as institutional form in professionals requiring control of vertigo and as corruption in drugs and alcoholism.
External links
- Man, Play and Games on Google Books