HEI-Lab

A Thinly Veiled Formalist Temptation: A Critique

Antunes's critique examines Johan Huizinga's Homo Ludens (1938), which elevates "play" to a foundational element of culture.

• The critique argues that Johan Huizinga's Homo Ludens (1938) amounts to a "thinly veiled formalist temptation" by abstracting play into a metaphysical, universal essence and treating it as the foundation of civilization rather than analysing it historically.
• The author faults Huizinga for conflating "play" with formalized "game," importing rule-governed structure into all of cultural life.
• The critique identifies reliance on Platonic and theological interpretations, such as the notion that man is made God's plaything, as a weakness that displaces socio-cultural and historical analysis.