Ludwig Wittgenstein was one of the deepest thinkers of the modern era but his argument that games share no universal characteristics may be lacking, according to Thomas Hurka, a professor in the Department of Philosophy and the Jackman Distinguished Chair in Philosophical Studies.
On the CBC radio documentary series Ideas, Hurka tells host Nahlah Ayed about his pursuit to understand what makes a game and how that definition can be applied to our everyday lives.
“The value in successfully playing the game, in exercising skill in the game, has to be entirely in pursuing and achieving the goal, not the goal itself,” Hurka says in the interview.
For a better understanding of what makes a game, Hurka points to his own philosophical contemporary, the late Bernard Suits. During his time as a professor at the University of Waterloo, Suits challenged Wittgenstein, saying that games do have certain shared qualities.
“In Suits’ elegant summary: Playing a game is the voluntary attempt to overcome unnecessary obstacles,” Hurka says.
“On this topic at least, it’s the little-known Waterloo professor who’s caught thinking profoundly and the giant of 20th century thought stuck on the surface,” Hurka says in his lecture “Games and the Good Life: From Baseball to Business.”
In Hurka’s lecture ― delivered in September 2022 at the University of Toronto ― he suggests an understanding of games that’s broad enough to encompass even business and our jobs, helping attribute meaning and value to something that may otherwise seem mundane.
Listen to the full episode ― and Hurka’s lecture ― on the CBC Radio Website.
In the News:
- Understanding games may hold the secret to living the good life, says philosopher
Ocitober 12, 2022 | CBC Radio Website