Under the gaze of Ulysses –

Species, words and other landscapes

a TRAVEL NOTEBOOK by Manuel Valente Alves

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Homo ludens

“The joy of strolling is the joy of playing. 'Wandering without aim, stopping once in a while to look around' is, one may say, the ultimate play. [...] Being gratuitous and being free is what sets the play apart from the 'normal', 'ordinary', 'proper', 'real' life. Play may be serious, and often it is, and it is at its best when it is; but even then it is 'not for real', it is enacted 'as if' it was real, this 'as-ifness' quality being precisely what sets its apart from 'real quality'. One plays when knowing that the assumptions are what they are: assumptions, which have been freely dropped. We speak of reality when we do not have such knowledge, or do not dare to believe it, or know it to be untrue. There is nothing gratuitous and not much that is free about reality.” –– Zygmunt Bauman, "Desert spectacular" (1994)

HOME | SPECIES | WORDS | STARS IN MY POCKET | GRAINS OF SAND | ABOUT | CONTACT