MacLean - Philosophical Perspectives on Play

Philosophical Perspectives on Play

Philosophical Perspectives on Play builds on the disciplinary and paradigmatic bridges constructed between the study of philosophy and play in The Philosophy of Play (Routledge, 2013) to develop a richer understanding of the concept and nature of play and its relation to human life and value. Made up of contributions from leading international thinkers and inviting readers to explore the presumptions often attached to play and playfulness, the book considers ways that play in virtual and real worlds can inform understandings of each, critiquing established norms and encouraging scepticism about the practice and experience of play.

Organized around four central themes play(ing) at the limits, aesthetics, metaphysics/ontology and ethics the book extends and challenges notions of play by drawing on issues emerging in sport, gaming, literature, space and art, with specific attention paid to disruption and danger. It is intended to provide scholars and practitioners working in the spheres of play, education, games, sport and related subjects with a deeper understanding of philosophical thought and to open dialogue across these disciplines.

Malcolm MacLean studied anthropology and history with a PhD from the University of Queensland, Australia, and is Reader in the Culture and History of Sport and Associate Dean, Quality and Standards at the University of Gloucestershire, UK. He has taught history in New Zealand and worked as a policy analyst and historian in the New Zealand Ministry of Justice. His publications deal with cultural boycotts and sports-related anti-apartheid protests, the cultural politics of settlement colonies, and discourses of indigeneity associated with sport, body, and movement cultures. He is actively involved in international sports studies networks and was Chair of the British Society of Sports History. He is an editor and author of Philosophy of Play (Routledge, 2013), Sporting nations without states (2014) and The sports club in history: International aspects (2013).

Wendy Russell is a Senior Lecturer in Play and Playwork at University of Gloucestershire, UK and a consultant on childrens play and playwork. She has worked in the UK playwork sector for over 35 years, first as a playworker on adventure playgrounds, then in play development, research, and education and training. She has worked on development, strategic, evaluation and research projects for local authorities, the private sector and local, national and international voluntary organizations. Key publications include, co-authored with Stuart Lester, Play for a Change (2008) and Childrens Right to Play (2010). She co-edited Philosophy of Play (Routledge, 2013) with Emily Ryall and Malcolm MacLean. She is on the editorial board of the International Journal of Play.

Emily Ryall is a Senior Lecturer in the Philosophy of Sport at the University of Gloucestershire, UK. She is an editor and author of Philosophy of Play (Routledge, 2013). She is also Chair of the British Philosophy of Sport Association, book review editor for Sport, Ethics and Philosophy and on the editorial panel for the Journal of the Philosophy of Sport. She has written and published widely on philosophical issues related to sport.

Philosophical Perspectives on Play

Edited by Malcolm MacLean, Wendy Russell and Emily Ryall

First published 2016

by Routledge

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and by Routledge

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Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor and Francis Group, an informa business

2016 M. MacLean, W. Russell and E. Ryall

The right of M. MacLean, W. Russell and E. Ryall to be identified as the authors of the editorial material, and of the authors for their individual chapters, has been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilized in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.

Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe.

British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data

Philosophical perspectives on play / edited by Malcolm MacLean, Wendy Russell and Emily Ryall.

pages cm

Includes bibliographical references and index.

1. Play (Philosophy) I. Maclean, Malcolm, 1960 II. Russell, Wendy.

III. Ryall, Emily.

B105.P54P54 2015

128.4dc23 2015009368

ISBN: 978-1-138-84143-7 (hbk)

ISBN: 978-1-315-73221-3 (ebk)

Typeset in Galliard

by Wearset Ltd, Boldon, Tyne and Wear

To Rudy (a player from the outset), Rupert and Hayley the only three of a kind (Malcolm)

To Vera and Gerry (Wendy)

To Daisy, Poppy-dog and Hilary the cat (Emily)

Contents

MALCOLM MAC LEAN, WENDY RUSSELL AND EMILY RYALL

PART I
Playing at the limits

MIHAI I. SPARIOSU

HENNING EICHBERG

CARL DAVID MILDENBERGER

STUART LESTER

PART II
Play, aesthetics and performance

CHRIS BATEMAN

TIM STOTT

NRIA SARA MIRAS BORONAT

DANIEL A. DOMBROWSKI

PART III
Metaphysics and ontology

IMARA FELKERS, ELLEN MULDER AND MALCOLM MACLEAN

DANI ABULHAWA

MATHIAS FUCHS

DAMLA DNMEZ

PART IV
Ethics of work in play and play in work

SANDRA LYNCH

WENDY RUSSELL

HELENE STAVELEY

Dani Abulhawa is a performance artist and senior lecturer in performance at Sheffield Hallam University. Her research is located within the mixed-modal discourse of play, public space and gender, which she has presented in different formats throughout the UK, as well as in continental Europe and North America. Since 2006, and following a history of involvement in the British skateboarding subculture, she has developed practices that respond creatively, playfully and often subversively to the built environment.

Chris Bateman is a game designer, outsider philosopher and author who has worked on over 40 game projects and became the first person to attain a doctorate in game aesthetics (2013). His research explores neurobiological distinctions between different play styles and preferences. His trilogy of philosophy books concerns the role of imagination in human life: Imaginary Games (2011) examines imagination in games and art, asking if games can be art or whether all art is a kind of game; The Mythology of Evolution (2012) explores the role of imagination in the sciences, asking if it is possible to present the story of life without distorting it; Chaos Ethics (2014) explores the role of imagination in morality.

Nria Sara Miras Boronat is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the University of Barcelona. She teaches German and English in Lleida, Spain. In 2009 she obtained her PhD in Philosophy at the University of Barcelona with a thesis on Wittgenstein and Gadamer: Language, Praxis, and Reason. She has been Postdoctoral Research Fellow and Associate Instructor at the Universitt Leipzig (200913), Guest Research Fellow at the Humboldt-Universitt zu Berlin (20037) and Guest Research Fellow at the Institute of Philosophy of the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC, 2000). She has written essays on pluralism, philosophy of language, hermeneutics, phenomenology, American pragmatism, philosophy of film and feminism. She is currently working on a project on the history of philosophy of play in the first decades of the twentieth century. She has also translated science fiction and philosophy books from German into Catalan and Spanish.