Reflections on Play Sport and Culture

<p>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.</p>