In the excerpt of “Reclaiming the Power of Play” written by Stephen T. Asma, the author discusses about the power of play and what defines play. Play, as discussed by the author, is the “highest form of human activity” and is considered “vitally important for humanity”. Play is described as having three stages namely the “camel” where it is the stage where humans are burdened by the cultural, social, ethical and traditional commitments; the “lion” where it is the stage where humans rebel and go against the norms which is also the “holy-nay”; and lastly the “playing child” where it is the stage where humans behave just like when they are in their adolescences years which is the “holy-yea”. So what exactly is play?
The first claim is that play
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Bertrand Russell (1932) wrote in his essay suggesting that humans do everything with reasons for their actions and not for himself which goes to show that play and leisure share a similarity in requiring mankind to think of others no matter what he does. However, because play is simply rest or downtime for the otherwise industrious soul which is a form of “relaxation of the soul” and not “proper occupation of leisure”, this means that leisure requires some form of activity in the line of work while play is just purely a period to let loose. Contrary to the latter, play and leisure correlates because if the working hours of normal man reduces, there will be more time for man to not only play and think about themselves but also ponder on the society issues. Aristotle stated that leisure is serious business because the Greek word for leisure is ‘skole’ which gives rise to the English word scholar indicating that leisure actually has some connections with knowledge and usage of the brain. On the other hand, the benefits of play comes only as a form of rest time like having naps. As stated by the Roman poet Juvenal (circa A.D. 100), Roman public duties saw a decline due to play or ‘mere amusement’ as quoted because humans were too self-indulgent and satisfied with what they possess that they ignored all other purposes for the greater good. Despite that, as mentioned above, play having two major groups shows passive and …show more content…
Based on an essay analysis written by Peter Gray, pure play occurs more often in children than in adults. In adults, play is commonly blended with other motives, having to do with adult responsibilities (Gray, 2008). The latter is a reason that play is an activity with that grown man do with and intention and not for relaxation and while leisure is and activity to allow the mind to have a sense of freedom and creativity but not intention, play is somewhat different from leisure. But leisure and play are similar in a sense that both help build certain attributes of people like increasing the social circle of an individual through social bonding. Austin Health (Austin Health Victoria, 2015) site states that leisure also gives people the chance to develop skills, friendships, and self-confidence and helps to enjoy new experiences, challenges and adventures and to stay healthy. This is evidence that both play and leisure helps human to create new relationships is the same way. The general consensus of leisure as described in the book “The Park and Recreation Professional’s Handbook (Hurd. & Anderson., 2011) is that there are three primary ways in which to consider leisure: leisure as time, leisure as activity, and leisure as state of mind. The claim that play and leisure is the same which goes to show that both are the highest form of human activity because playing is done during one’s leisure time and both
My own personal philosophy of leisure has been shaped by past and present activities I do for leisure and why I do them. To me, leisure is the sense of being free from external stressors that I face in my life such as school or work. The positive outcomes from partaking in leisure are generally overlooked and often underestimated. Leisure affects our emotions, our physical and mental health, and aids in the creation of relationships. In my own personal life, I have done and still participate in leisure as a way to sooth myself or unwind from the stress of school or work. The release of pent up emotions and energy for individuals helps their relationships with others and their overall health as well. When stress is released, an individual is
Many theorists have tried to define play as a concept, however, no two agree on a set definition. Their backgrounds and induvial lifestyles influence the way they see the importance of play. Reed and Brown also believe that there isn’t an agreed definition of play because is something that is felt rather than done (Reed & Brown, 2000 cited in Brock, Dodd’s, Jarvis & Olusoga, 2009). In spite of this, it is clear that most theorists uphold the ethos that play is imperative to a child’s learning and development. There is a wide range of different studies and theories which helps us develop our own perception of what play is. In my personal experience I have found play to be a way of expressive our emotions, exploring and learning new things, thus
Thus according to Pieper, leisure is an attitude of the mind and a state of the soul that fosters a capacity to perceive the reality of the world. Pieper establishes that the ancient and medieval philosophers understood the great value and importance of leisure in doing work and thus, eventually led to building of great societies. He also points out that religion can be born only in leisure as it is only through leisure that actual worship of God is possible. Leisure has been, and always will be, the basic foundation of any culture or religion.
...society now classifies leisure as simply ‘free time.’ Time away from work or school, no matter how it is enjoyed, is more broadly defined as leisure today.
...ctive. Play is an essential learning tool and one that must not be ignored within the classroom. It is a catalyst to help children develop socially, emotionally, physically and cognitively. It is not only an important part of a child’s development as a pupil but also a child’s development as an individual.
...and essence of play is always being changed throughout history and takes on multiple characteristics and definitions, but it cannot be a simple ideology that is defined. By continuously studying human society is more capable to comprehend the concept of play culture and its evolution of representation through different kinds of mediums and forms it can undergo. Play undergoes and consistently shifts over time and by understanding Huizinga and the study of play of being importance humans should be able to better understand the capabilities of play as technology is becoming more advanced while blending and blurring the definitions and characteristics of play. With Huizinga’s characteristics of play it makes the concept rigid and structured to a point where it should rather be a piece of gear in machinery that can be interchangeably malleable throughout human culture.
The problem of modern leisure has, throughout the years, been a well-discussed topic among many sociologists. Sociability, in this case, is one of the most universal forms of leisure that will be discussed in this essay. The theoretical framework for this discussion is provided by the sociological insights of Georg Simmel (1858-1918) as he argues that the “tumult of the metropolis” (cited in Frisby 1989, p80) creates inner barriers between people and suggests that “sociability” can surpass this problem. According to Frisby (1989), Simmel states that the city life has transformed the struggle with nature for livelihood into a struggle with other human beings for gain. This is further discussed as Frisby (1989) and Giulianotti (2005) describes how sociability can transcend this problem according to Simmel’s sociability theory.
In the play deficit, the author believes that “The decline in opportunity to play has been accompanied by a decline in empathy and a rise in narcissism (Gray).” The increase of school works undermine the development of personalities. At the same time, there has been an increase
Viewed as activities that people engage in during their free time – activities that are not work oriented or that do not involve life maintenance such as work or sleep (Hurd and Anderson). Serious leisure is the systematic pursuit of an amateur, hobbyist or volunteer activity sufficiently substantial and interesting in nature for the participant to find a career there in the acquisition and expression of a combination of its special skills, knowledge and experience (Stebbins, 1992:3). Work Cited Grant, Maddie. “Exploring the Future of Work: A New Definition of “Work”.
Western civilization uses Aristotle definition of what leisure is “a state of being in which activity is performed for its own sake or as its own end” (Grazia pg.13). The concept of leisure was first formed by the Greeks, Aristotle said that “the life of leisure was the only life fit for a Greek” (pg.19). They (Greeks) felt as if they could not succeed as a city state without leisure. There were many forms of leisure, gymnastics, wrestling, dance, theater, poetry and education among other things. The Greeks felt that mans ability to contemplate was as close to godlike that man could be, and it even separated them from animals.
“Play is the highest form of research.” -Albert Einstein. I truly believe that play is essential in becoming a healthy adult because playing is also experiencing so many different things that really influences the way I am later on. Playing has components that helps develop specific thoughts on the world around me, it lets me explore the entire world with just my head and a couple of friends.
The first difference is that play is often. It is free-formed and voluntary. “Play is superfluous. The need for it is only urgent to the extent that the enjoyment if it makes it a need. Play can be deferred or suspended at any time. It is never imposed by physical necessity or moral duty. It is never a task. It is done at leisure, during “free time”. (Huizinga 1955) According to Huizinga, “play is something added to or spread over life” in which “we are able to choose courses of action and to adjust those courses based on the internal satisfactions we receive.” (Henricks 2006)
During daily life, leisure plays a significant role of balancing people from mandatory social responsibility such as job and identity in society to own life pleasure and interests. In the concept of leisure, it is formed into three types: Casual Leisure, Serious Leisure, and Project-based Leisure, which this paper concentrates on the first two types. As a human being grown up, casual leisure is always excavated from intrinsical interests and it attracts a person to be pleasurable without any skill needed. However, when some type of casual leisure activities are developed into serious leisure which contains skills and professions, these activities rather become hobbies or even at a professional level which bring profound influence on and deepen
Multiple scholars argue that leisure contributes to a happy life (Mitas, Qian, Yarnal & Kersetetter, 2011; Ballantyne, Ballantyne & Packer, 2014; Newman, Tay & Diener, 2014; Mitas, 2010; Knobloch, Robertson & Aitken, 2017). Still, it is difficult to understand the interplay between leisure and SWB (subjective well-being) due to the subjectivity of the concepts (Newman et al., 2014). Thereby, leisure is context-based and actor-related which causes that people experience leisure differently and also have diverse personal outcomes. This implies that the interplay between leisure and SWB is different per person. With this assumption in mind, I would like to discuss the question “How does leisure contribute to happiness”? First, I explain my critique
A very wise man; Charles Schaefer, once said “We are never more fully alive, more completely ourselves, or more deeply engrossed in anything than when we are playing.” To begin with, there is no one explanation about what play really is, other than the fact that it holds infinite numbers of definitions according to every single individual. Play is just not a physical body movement involved in an activity, but more than that if you look outside of the box. For centuries, play has been practiced in its own unique way with not only children, but adults as well.