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 An Interesting, Although Marred Reflection on the Play Impulse January 22, 2007
3 out of 6 found this review helpful
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.
 "No one is more serious than children at their games" Montaigne April 23, 2006
5 out of 8 found this review helpful
The search for the essence of our humanity has led thinkers to time and again single out one aspect of our complex nature. We are 'the talking creature' and we are the 'rational being' and we are 'the fabricator' and maker of worlds. We are the creature 'made in the image of God" and the only one capable of
'imitato dei'. And we are also 'homo ludens' the creature for whom play is at the essence of our being .
Huizinga may be too much of a generalist for many today, but he has a great perception and he elaborates and investigates it in an insightful way.
" If we cannot play we cannot begin to be fully human"
Essential September 8, 2004
13 out of 14 found this review helpful
I'm sure the translation is as poor as everyone says, but for God's sake, this is one of only three or four absolutely essential twentieth-century books on the history of games and gaming. It's insightful and humorous even in English, so just imagine how good it is in Dutch. Along with Murray, Bell, Conway, et al, this is a necessary assignment for anyone who wants to talk about the subject. Five stars. Five! Five! Five!
 Horrible translation! December 26, 2002
75 out of 89 found this review helpful
Please be aware that this book really is a horrible translation of Huizinga's original and insightful attempts to make sense of 'play'. Huizinga's contribution of the new word 'ludiek', introduced through his translations in almost every language but English, is simply left out of the introduction and does not occur in the book. This means that the logic Huizinga has set up, pointing out how cultural practices are characterized by 'ludieke' features (i.e. features of their game-like quality) gets reduced to a book on 'game elements'. The entire logic of play creating culture therefore never comes across, but stays obscured behind game elements in culture. This translation should really be immediately taken from the market or redone by someone who actually tries his best to translate with integrity. An indication of the complete lack thereof is the note of the editor that he changed the subtitle from 'play element of culture' (which Huizinga in his introduction clarifies he fought for on several occassions to be maintained) into 'play element in culture', because "English prepositions are not governed by logic". The English-centricity complete overrules at least 90% of what Huizinga actually expresses. Horrible.
Original but not essential. October 27, 2002
5 out of 16 found this review helpful
Huizinga illustrates with numerous examples out of all sort of civilizations that culture first appears under the form of play. The first forms of culture are played. He finds his examples in as different fields as jurisdiction, art, poetry, battle ...
I agree that play was certainly influential or important for certain aspects of cultural life, but not for essential points like politics, exercise of power or distribution of wealth within a society.
This book is not in the same class as his other more known book 'The Autumn of the Middle Ages'.
He makes an important remark in his diatribe against Carl Schmitt, whom he reproaches his wrong point of view. Schmitt founds his jurisdictional work on the principle of 'friend-foe', in other words on war not on peace.
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