Homo Ludens

In Homo Ludens, Johan Huizinga defines play as the central activity in flourishing societies. As he writes, "Civilization is, in its earliest phases, played. He identifies five characteristics of play: it is free; it is not "ordinary" or "real" life; it is distinct from "ordinary" life both as to locality and duration; it creates order; it is connected with no material interest, and from it no profit can be gained.With cross-cultural examples from the humanities, business, and politics, Huizinga examines play in all its diverse guises--as it relates to language, law, war, knowledge, poetry, myth, philosophy, art, and much more.

It does not come from play like a baby detaching itself from the womb: it arises in and as play, and never leaves it."Starting with Plato, Huizinga traces the contribution of "man the player" through the Middle Ages, the Renaissance, and early modern