What's In a Game?

Sunday, October 25, 2020

What Is It

Games have been an integral part of human society since the earliest civilizations. They are played around the world by people at every rank and station, at every stage of life, from childhood to old age. Why do we love games so much? Are they just a pleasant way of whiling away some empty hours or escaping the daily grind? Or do we play games to form social bonds and build important life skills? Are there some games we should never play? And what exactly makes something a “game” in the first place? Josh and Ray team up with Thi Nguyen from the University of Utah, author of Games: Agency as Art.

Comments (1)

Maurice's picture

Maurice

Thursday, October 1, 2020 -- 11:01 AM

I love games--I enjoy playing

I love games--I enjoy playing them and watching them. However, games have become a powerful metaphor in our society that has helped to erode the complexity of our moral thinking. The moral conditions of life are too nuanced to allow game metaphors to dominate our social and political thinking. Please see the article, "Business is Not A Game" https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10551-008-9859-0 or the chapter, "Politics is Not A Game" https://works.bepress.com/maurice_hamington/43/