The opacity of play: a reply to commentators

Abstract

First, let me thank all my wonderful commentators, and the editors at the Journal of the Philosophy of Sport for this extraordinary opportunity. I had harbored suspicions, as I worked away on Games: Agency as Art, that I was pouring my heart out into a hopelessly niche product, borne of my own private obsessions. I am so grateful to have this bounty of interest and commentary from so many walks of philosophy. It is quite tempting, in a situation like this, to try and defend myself from every jab and criticism, but the result would be miserably compressed and spiritually impoverished. Instead, I will cover a handful of key points in detail. Much of the commentary clusters around a few topics, indicating some intellectual centers of gravity for my readers’ concerns. I will focus on these clusters; I apologize to my commentators for all the other exchanges that will fall by the wayside. The three centers of gravity I take to be: