"Homo Ludens"
J. Huizinga —
Amazon.ca $17.48
by Neil Elliot
Who are we? By which I mean, what is the nature of humanity? It’s more than an idle, theoretical question. It is a question that drives to the heart of everything we are, and which is at the centre of many of the conflicts that we face. As the church deals with secularization in society we ask, "Are humans spiritual beings?" St. Augustine suggested we are when he said "Our hearts are restless until they rest in You." As we deal with the issues of same sex blessings, we ask is sexual orientation a choice (as the Archbishop of Canterbury's recent statements suggest) or inherent in our DNA? The term for this subject area is "theological anthropology." It is a seriously undervalued field of study, and I would argue that it makes a great starting place for a post-modern theology. But that's not why I’m reviewing this book.
"Homo Ludens" means humanity that plays. It is a statement designed to contrast with "Homo Sapiens"— Humanity that is wise (An increasingly hard concept to believe). Huizinga is arguing that the primary and most significant characteristic of humanity is that we play. By play, of course, he does not mean something insignificant. He argues that play, including children’s play, is the most significant and characteristic thing that humans do. We play in language (what else is a joke). Play civilizes us and socializes us in the playground at school. Play avoids and resolves conflicts (bring on the Olympic games). We learn (best) through play as we experiment and explore. We create our art through play (especially when we go to see a play, or play musical instruments). Huizinga points out the obvious that we miss. Play is at the centre of much of what we do, and especially of those things we enjoy (Boy’s toys anyone?). It is when we play that Huizinga says we are most fully and truly ourselves, yet we dismiss play in our guilt-driven work ethic.
One key section of the book develops the theme of the philosophical significance of play. Huizinga explores play worlds, where different rules to those of the normal world apply. He quotes Plato saying, "Life must be lived as play." Then he connects sacred ritual and play. The sacred space is a site of play. Ritual is, for Huizinga "formally indistinguishable from play." This does not mean that holiness is lost. Rather, through play, the whole of our being is connected to the divine. This happens in a way that is not possible if we allow only our serious, reserved and filtered non-play selves to engage with our worship.
When I was at seminary I found it hard to engage with the worship. There was too much theoretical stuff in my head for me to connect with God in chapel. Then I found a group where I could worship using dance not words. That became my release, and opened a whole set of doors for me. That worship group was a place to play—to be free—to connect with God, not in a conceptual way, but in a physical way.
I don’t think I buy the whole concept. For me the nature of humanity is that we have the potential for divinity. But I do believe that we get there by engaging with play. So my motto is "Ludo cum Gravitate" — play with seriousness. I invite you to read Huizinga, but more importantly I invite you to play with God, who is calling you to play with all gravity and seriousness.
