Homo Ludens
by Johan Huizinga
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Book Summary Information
Author: Johan HuizingaEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published)
Published: 1971-06-01
ISBN: 0807046817
Number of pages: 224
Publisher: Beacon Press
Book Reviews of Homo Ludens
Book Review: An Interesting, Although Marred Reflection on the Play Impulse
Summary: 3 Stars
Huizinga's text on the nature of the play impulse in man and as a formative principle for culture is indeed interesting but suffers from the myopic view that can occur when one places too much importance on a single factor in humanity. While I approach this from a theological perspective, I think that it is true of any topic. Huizinga does not reduce man to merely a playing being but does indeed develop this tendency highly, giving it central importance to culture, something which is ultimately related to the cult of the people involved.
With respect to this, Huizinga views the cult as profoundly influenced by the play-impulse of man. While this definitely has truth in it and also binds his thesis of play and culture together by means of an intermediary of cult, it is incomplete insofar as it ascribes primacy to an impulse which is only part of the unifying drive of humanity. This lack of consideration of the importance of other aspects of man leads Huizinga to often wax passionately for some primordial period of joyful playfulness which was wholly amoral. Because of his combination of play and the agonal (something with which I partially agree, although not entirely), he provides fodder for relativistic views of the world which view power as the ultimate determining factor in human life instead of Truth, Justice, and Love.
With this negative assessment in mind, Homo Ludens does explore important relationships between the ludic and agonal principles in human action. By looking at these with respect to the whole of human culture, Huizinga sheds light on many varied aspects of play and its essential nature. Indeed, his understanding of the importance of agonal action allows him to more fully integrate play with culture and cultural entities such as mythology, art, and philosophy. Because of this very positive contribution to the understanding of the play impulse, I still recommend this text with the caveats stated above.
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