Philosophy's Gambit - by Jeremy Sampson (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

Living in an era of immense and bewildering change in technology, pandemic and war, humanity has had cause to challenge the apparent old fixities and certainties of life. Essentially, are we being played? The premise of this volume is that all of human life is underpinned by powerful dynamic systems, so tightly interwoven into our daily lives that we are barely aware of them, whose true nature only comes to light at times of profound disruption or crisis. These powerful dynamic systems, philosophical or otherwise, often fall under the umbrella of ludic theory. Within these pages, some of the leading thinkers of ludic theory from three continents explore its diversity and relevance through the perspectives of some of the world's most famous philosophers.

In many ways, this volume follows on from Sampson's 'Being Played: Gadamer and Philosophy's Hidden Dynamic' (2019). It also draws upon other ludic-centred and ludic-inspired texts that include Mattice's 'Metaphor and Metaphilosophy' (2014) and Arthos' 'Gadamer's Poetics: A Critique of Modern Aesthetics' (2014), together with Frazier's 'Reality, Religion and Passion' (2009) and Homan's 'A Hermeneutics of Poetic Education' (2020). Although this is not the first volume offering an integrated approach to ludic theory, see Ryall (ed), 'The Philosophy of Play' (2013), it offers a diverse and detailed approach to the subject, including not only Western philosophers, but also thinkers from Ancient China, 16th-century India and modern South America.

This volume will be not only of interest to scholars and students of ludic theory and philosophy in general, but because of its deliberate globalised content, it is hoped it might have a wider appeal globally as humanity continues to grapple with significant challenges created by these current winds of change.

Review Quotes

In "Philosophy's Gambit" Jeremy Sampson has brought together an original and thought-provoking collection of essays on the relationship between play and philosophy. All importantly, this is not simply an exploration of what philosophers have written about play. It is also an exploration of the playfulness that can, and perhaps should, exist within philosophy. Contributors are both themselves playful, not least in a practice of reading together seemingly diverse philosophers, so that Hegel, for example, is placed in the context of the Eastern Patristic Christian Tradition (and the notion of the play of the infinite). Playfulness is uncovered in philosophical texts, and not merely in text by authors one might expect to be playful (say Derrida or Rorty), but also in surprising places, not least the writings of Kant. At this level the essays often serve to highlight the somewhat straight-faced approach that is currently taken, not just in doing philosophy, but in addressing its past. The potential to read philosophical texts playfully and humorously is rarely recognised.

As a history of the philosophy of play, the collection is informative and at times surprising. Chapters on the Chinese Daoist Zhuangzi, and the sixteenth century Indian philosopher Rupa Gosvami challenge narrower Western perspectives. While certain key figures of Western philosophy predominate (not least Gadamer, but also Schiller, Wittgenstein, and Heidegger), a chapter on Eugen Fink is important in reminding the reader of an often unjustly neglected figure.

[...] a rich and surprising collection, that will act as a significant stimulant to further work on the philosophy of play and, it might be hoped, to a greater recognition of the creative power of play within philosophy itself.

Dr. Andrew Edgar

Cardiff University

Offering a series of original investigations into play as a concept and as a phenomenon, "Philosophy's Gambit" is a refreshing anthology which will likely inspire, challenge, and provoke readers (mostly found within the academic world).

Dr. Jonas Holst Soerensen

Institute of Humanism and Society

San Jorge University, Zaragoza, Spain