Play and its various forms

Below is the essay which I submitted as part of my course assessment. I was glad to find out I was praised for a concise essay with valid objections. This gave me confidence in my writing skills.

Tutor Marked Assignment

Is play necessary?

In Stephen T. Asma’s essay about play and its various forms, he has underlined several interesting points about play that people may not usually associate with such an activity. Many a time, we believe play to be a distraction, a side hobby from our otherwise hectic lifestyles. However, he establishes its importance in self-development and how different philosophers have differing views on play as a form of human activity. He also outlines how society undermines the value of play and follows by categorising play into two different forms, active play and passive play. To a certain extent, I agree with the author as he brings up very good points on the benefits of play. However, there is a point on passive play I will object to and provide evidence for my claim.

In the essay, Asma describes play as the highest form of man’s activity and its necessity for the development of the mind, body, and soul. This is due to three differing factors: it equips us with necessary life skills, social skills and enables us to experience pleasure and joy in life.

Play equips us with the necessary life skills to survive in our modern society today and the author describes it with a three-step process. Firstly, using the analogy of a camel with a heavy load on its back, he compares man with the burden of cultural and social ethics weighing down on the personage. This refers to the traditions and social ethics which man must attend and abide to before any other activity. Next, he proceeds to describe man as rejecting the social psyche, and freeing himself from obedience from the authority. This enables him to exclude himself from the political and stringent way life is run by rules and regulations. Lastly, he compares play to the act of an innocent child playing, and this refers to how creativity will exude itself from the activity. These layers help in giving man the essential life skills to adapt in the society he has been placed upon.

Play equips us with social skills to interact with other members of society and to include oneself into its system, and at the same time, forge alliances and friendships. Asma describes play as helping one become familiar with the physical body and helps prepare himself for social engagements. This will also help one to learn the importance of dominance and submission, as evident in most mammals, where play is used to show supremacy in the pack or group it is born into. A prominent example is in wolves, where there is a hierarchy that each wolf has to follow where an alpha (top) and an omega (bottom) position is established from young (Conger, 2008). In modern society, this translates to an acknowledgement of the status quo and fitting into the society we have been placed into.

Hierarchy in a wolf pack

Play also enables us to experience pleasure and joy, while at the same time relieving stress. At the very basic level, it is ingrained in our physical and nervous system as our body releases spikes of dopamine, which helps control the brain’s pleasure and reward system, giving us “feel good” chemicals like opioids and oxytocin. As such, we are able to expel tensions and negativity just by playing.

However, some philosophers argue and counter argue against the importance of play. Some feel it is an unnecessary diversion from normal activities, others feel it is a vital part to true happiness.

Plato, a Greek philosopher, rejected play and calls it an act of disorder. He describes play as a distraction for the working and mechanized soul, and refers to play to be mere stoppages of time that could be used to benefit the person and at a larger scale, the community. Juvenal, a Roman poet, also believes in how play is unnecessary as he feels that it is a decline of civic and societal responsibilities and refers to play as “mere amusements”. He feels it is a distraction from the person’s societal ethics and consciousness, and rejects play as an experience worth pursuing.

Play is an unnecessary diversion from duties?

In objection to this, Aristotle, another Greek philosopher, claims that play is serious business that should not be taken lightly. In our high-paced lifestyle, it serves as a break for our tired minds and bodies and prepares it for the oncoming challenges one has to face. For this reason, we should never undermine the importance of play. Bertrand Russell, a British philosopher, also rebuts the above points by arguing that modern society always feels a need to give purpose to every endeavour we embark on. Play does not necessarily need to have a purpose. On the other hand, in order to achieve true happiness, there is a need for an organized and systematic distribution of work.

Asma also states that society has undermined the value of play. He claims that the stakes of play are higher than what we actually perceive it to be as we have always been taking it lightly. However, play, he argues, is a form of conduct that rebuts the convenient mode of living that exists only to contribute to society or the survival of oneself. This is because we don’t measure play in values used to numerate productivity but instead we should focus on our physical and mental attributes that we gain from play itself. Nevertheless, people are utilizing play as a straight road to achieve success rather than enjoying the actual act itself. A prime example of this is “Tiger Moms” sending their kids to extra-curricular lessons such as music and ballet to gain an extra edge in their life, even if the child is not enjoying said activity (Park, 2014). However, we should not only pursue success in play, but enjoy the very activity itself.

Tiger Moms

Play can also be divided into two broad categories, active and passive play. Active play is dynamic and energetic, and also vitalises the individual engaging in the activity. This form of play also requires some degree of skill and practice to accomplish. Some examples of active play are sports and music. Passive play, on the other hand, is submissive and static. The author also compares it to “cheap pleasures” that anesthetizes the user and reduces the level of creativity. Finally, passive play requires no effort or skill to complete. Examples of passive play are watching the television or consuming alcohol.

Throughout the entirety of the essay, I can agree to Asma’s claims to a certain extent. The only objection I have toward his points is toward the idea on passive play. He describes passive play as a black hole of creativity. However, this is not true as passive forms of play can in turn be used as forms of inspiration. For example, watching television programmes can be informative and help to provide direction in one’s life (Jacobs, 2013). Consuming alcohol can also, in fact, reduce one’s ability to focus on certain things and ignore or forget others. This translates to creative ways for the brain to solve problems (Beilock, 2012). From the examples shown, passive play can actually inspire and improve the way we process information while maintaining creativity levels.

In conclusion, Asma has brought up several points about play that resonates with our intrinsic nature. He highlights the importance of play; how it equips us with essential life and social skills, and provides us with pleasure and joy. He then underlines how society has taken play lightly and proceeds by dividing play into its active and passive forms. However, I feel that passive play is also as important as its active counterpart in bringing inspiration and not merely as cheap amusements and distractions as the author claims it to be. However, one thing remains clear, play is as important as it once was and always will be.

References

Beilock, S. (2012, April 4). Alcohol Benefits the Creative Process. Retrieved from Psychology Today: https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/choke/201204/alcohol-benefits-the-creative-process

Conger, C. (2008, July 30). What is a wolf pack mentality? Retrieved from HowStuffWorks: http://animals.howstuffworks.com/mammals/wolf-pack-mentality.htm

Jacobs, T. (2013, October 28). Watching TV can make you a better person. Retrieved from Salon: http://www.salon.com/2013/10/27/research_finds_tv_inspires_altruism_what_does_that_mean_for_homeland_fans_partner/

Park, A. (2014, May 5). The Tiger Mom Effect Is Real, Says Large Study. Retrieved from Time: http://time.com/88125/the-tiger-mom-effect-is-real-says-large-study/