Philosophy of Play

The golden mean between boorishness and buffoonery is “eutrapelia” (Aristotle), that is, the virtue of play, which consists in the moderation of pleasure in games. Modesty is a subordinate virtue of temperance, which is one of the four cardinal virtues (Catholic Encyclopedia). These moral virtues consist in the things pertaining to man being directed by his reason. In accordance with the dictates of reason, eutrapelia disposes one to moderation of play, both in action and word. Saint Ambrose says “the habit of mind is seen in the gesture of the body” and also that, “the body’s movement is an index of the soul.” Outward movements are signs of the inward disposition, and so, one who has the virtue of play is able to exemplify outwardly that inward joy according to reasonable times, places, and persons. One who is virtuous in play is also able to discern the playful actions and words of others, seeing through their outward signs. Thus, eutrapelia is both the reasonable direction and the proper reception of playful actions and words. For lack of an all encompassing term, this can be called “a sense of humor,” albeit in a looser sense than connotation affords, for here this applies to all playful words and actions. Fulton Sheen speaks of having a sense of humor when he says “No one has ever laughed at a pun who did not see in the one word a twofold meaning. To materialists this world is opaque like a curtain; nothing can be seen through it. A mountain is just a mountain, a sunset just a sunset; but to poets, artists, and saints, the world is transparent like a window pane–it tells of something beyond.” He goes on, “A horse can hear a funny story just as well as a man. It is conceivable that the horse may hear the words better than the man and at the end of the story the man may laugh, but the horse will never give a horse laugh. The reason is that the horse gets only the material side of the “sacrament,” namely, the sound; but the man gets the invisible or the spiritual side, namely, the meaning.” So it is also with sports, and theatre, and all forms of leisure. Leisure is not to be taken seriously, as the horse sees leisure. “Nay,” true leisure is seen in transparency. Even what is called “serious leisure” is not serious, but rather the most transparent of all forms of leisure. For “serious leisure” refers to that play which looks so serious that some mistake it as something other than play; it implies suffering, work, pain, and toil, and indeed the very word with which the serious leisurist will describe their play is the paradox in a word, for they call their toilsome fun their “passion.”

Now that it has been established what the virtue of play is, why its virtue will here be articulated. St. Augustine says “I pray thee, spare thyself at times: for it becomes a wise man sometimes to relax the high pressure of his attention to work.” The pleasure that comes from playful actions is directed to both the recreation and the rest of the soul. However, there is sin in both excess of directing oneself to playful actions and words, and in lack of mirth, that is, in lacking the reception of playfulness. “Excess of play can be sinful when a man for the purpose of jesting employs indecent words or deeds such as are injurious to his neighbor” (Summa Theologica), and also in inappropriate circumstances. As regards lack of mirth, “it is against reason for a man to be burdensome to others, by offering no pleasure to others, and by hindering their enjoyment. Now a man who is without mirth, not only is lacking in playful speech, but is also burdensome to others, since he is deaf to the moderate mirth of others” (Summa Theologica). Most important however, play is virtuous because it is humble. G.K. Chesterton says, “as it is the greatest incongruity of all to be serious about humour, so it is the worst sort of pomposity to be monotonously proud of humour; for it is itself the chief antidote to pride.” This is because, as he says in another place, a sense of humor “corresponds to the human virtue of humility.”