Homo Ludens

## What is a Homo Ludens?

To fully grasp the meaning of what a Homo
Ludens is, is to know the basics of human evolution. The human lineage starts
with the Australopithecus afarensis, the first step from beast to humanoid.
Australopithecus afarensis translated from Latin means “Southern ape from
Afar”, Afar being a region within bounds of Ethiopia. This was where the
remains of Lucy were found, the most famous specimen of its kind. This species
evolved and adapted into the Homo habilis, meaning “able man”. These were
marked extraordinary because they are believed to be the first in the human
lineage to have used stone tools for their own benefit. Then came the Homo
erectus, the “upright man” and noted to be the first fully able to walk solely
on two legs. Homo neanderthalensis followed, named after Neanderthal, a valley
in Germany where evidence of the Homo neanderthalensis was first found. They
founded the first noticeable community among each other in order to survive.
After that came the Homo sapiens, the thinking human, and the scientifically
end or current part of the human timeline. Although some claim it didn’t end
there.

Humans were named Homo sapiens by
scientists from the eighteenth century. Now modern fashion inclines to define
our species as Homo faber, the making man. Even though ‘faber’ might not be the
best way to describe the current man since some animals, like humans, have the
ability to create things for their own purposes. That makes them, too, makers
and makes the term rather inappropriate. Besides thinking and making, there is
another defining factor that defines humans, this would be ‘playing’. As
playing has always had a big part in any human culture it has spawned many
philosophical and cultural theories, one of these was “Homo Ludens”, a book written
in 1938 by Dutch historian and cultural theorist Johan Huizinga. It revolves
around the importance of the play element of culture and society. Huizinga
suggests that play is a primary and necessary condition of the generation of
culture. Since humans share the knowledge of how to find enjoyment in playing
with some if not all those from the animal kingdom, it might be more logical
not to see the Homo ludens, or the playing man, as the next step of human
evolution, but rather as an overarching aspect of society and a part of any
human. The playful aspect in any of us, as it were.

## What does the Homo Ludens have to do with "Life is a game: live it well"?

Play is not a biological thing, it is a
cultural phenomenon and, because of this, should be approached historically and
not scientifically. Hence why it is not a continuation of the human lineage.
Playing allows relaxation on a psychological level. Playing is focusing nearly,
if not all, attention to play a scenario or game. It is crucial to the
development of the mind, especially during the child phase in a human life. It
allows creativity and imagination to manifest and thus build the personality of
the child. It also allows the child to cope with things that trouble him or her
and help cope. Children also learn to cope with their feelings as they act out
being angry, sad or worried in a situation they control. It allows them to
think out loud about certain experiences charged with both pleasant and
unpleasant feelings. When they reach an older stage, it helps them learn who
they really are and teaches them realistic self-perceptions. They also get a
better understanding of their emotions and how to control them, this leads to
more self-control that improves over time through games and inventions. As
older children engage in spontaneous and structured play activities, they come to
see themselves as good in some areas and less good in others. These
opportunities to monitor and discriminate among feelings and emotions
contribute to children’s beliefs about their own capacity.

Play is an important part of our culture as
it relieves stress. As people value freedom highly, no matter where from or
what background, having the thought of being imprisoned creates a prominent
sense of uneasiness and discomfort. History has proven time and time again that
when an oppressor attempts to rule with an iron fist and take away freedom in
some aspect of the oppressed, the oppressed will retaliate sooner or later. Having
the liberty of being able to play to relieve stress is now so embedded in our,
and many other, cultures that taking it out would simply be impossible. Yet
full understanding of playing games is rare, even among communities who create
games. Among academics, games belong to many domains and to none. For
anthropologists, games are artifacts enmeshed in the fabric of a particular
culture. For psychologists, games are enabling devices in the narrative of
personal development. Among math theorists, games surface as evidence of the
intricate strategies and thorny dilemmas of game-theory, while scientists use
game-like models to approximate real-world systems. In the end, the consensus
would be that games allow people to play and enjoy the benefits of it. Gaming
has become one of the main ways of relief, so much so that it has become the
focus of many to turn games and play into their careers, all be it to help
create games or give commentary while playing for viewing pleasure. Games were
made for us to play and are here to stay.

## Sources

Homo Ludens (http://art.yale.edu/file\_columns/0000/1474/homo\_ludens\_johan\_huizinga\_routledge\_1949\_.pdf)
Homo Habilis (http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/homo--habilis )
Australopithecus afarensis (http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/australopithecus-afarensis
)
Neanderthal (http://www.thefreedictionary.com/Neanderthal)
Why is Play Important? Social and Emotional Development, Physical Development,
Creative Development (http://www.education.com/reference/article/importance-play--social-emotional/
)
Rules, Play and Culture: Towards an Aesthetic of Games (http://www.ericzimmerman.com/texts/RulesPlayCulture.html-