The 7 Play Rhetorics – ideologies that have been used to explain, justify, and privelege certain forms of play as identified by Brian Sutton-Smith.
The Modern Rhetorics:
- Play as Progress
Play for healthy human development and education, from child to adult - Play as Imagination
Play as a means to access imagination, creativity, and innovation - Play as Selfhood
Play as a form of self expression, relaxation, and escape. The pursuit of individual hobbies
The Ancient Rhetorics
- Play as Power
Play as a contest of players in competition or conflict–in sport, economics, law, war, philosophy. - Play as Identity/Self
Play as a means of constructing and understanding social identity within a community through activities such as rituals, festivals and events. - Play as Fate and Chaos
Play as games of chance and gambling, under the belief that human life is controlled by destiny (gods, luck, etc… not by free will).
The Seventh Rhetoric
- Play as Frivolity
Play as a defense against all attempts at social authority and power–laughter, subversion, tomfoolery, etc.
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