ABSTRACT
This chapter surveys the many claims about play made by biologists, neuroscientists, psychologists, sociologists, historians, and philosophers. The research is deeply divided between those who evangelize play as the most profound of human activities and those who sternly caution against it. Rather than offer a definition of play, this chapter uses studies about non-human play to find important elements of play. Scientists reveal that play helps animals develop their bodies, minds, and social relationships. This chapter agrees that this is crucial. However, this chapter also argues that human play transcends these aspects of play because human play uniquely involves abstract values, practical reason, and complex sociality. For humans, play affects individual identity, social coordination, and the imagination of new possibilities of being an authentic person and engaging with others. The chapter concludes by hinting that the wide-ranging features of play indicate that a virtue of playfulness might help us harmonize the cacophonous claims about play.
