The Important Role Of Games And Playing In Evolution
Dr. Anatoly Ulianov: A few decades ago Johan Huizinga, a cultural historian and philosopher, published a book titled, Homo Ludens (Man the Player), which became a kind of a cult-book. After its publication, people started talking a lot about the role of games in the development of man and life in general. So what is a “game”?
Dr. Michael Laitman: The extensive influence of games on human development has been known since ancient times. We like to play. And practically speaking, we spend most of our lives playing. Even my pre-dissertation examination in philosophy included a question on games.
Games are everywhere, including in math and in Nature. Games have a very important role in the development of animals and even plants. The element of playing is present in any transformation, in any forward movement from one state to another.
We observe the elements of a game even on the level of cellular development, the development of organism, and within living organisms.
No growth or development is possible without the presence of several possibilities. there always has to be a specific choice that is played out and made, and this choice is always made through playing. This can be explained using probability theory, mathematical theory, and others. Meaning, we see that Nature is playing.
Dr. Ulianov: Nevertheless, there is a notion that games are related only to childhood, and when a person grows up it’s inappropriate for him to play because he has to be more serious.
Dr. Laitman: Unfortunately, there is indeed such a notion. But of course, this is a dull perception of the world. When a person stops playing, he stops developing.
The above points were taken from the book The Psychology of the Integral Society by Dr. Michael Laitman and Dr. Anatoly Ulianov. Also available as eBook (PDF, Kindle & ePub formats).
