Play: A Historical and Cultural Approach

The article examines the historical dynamics of the theoretical and methodological approaches to the essence of play and their significance in modern scholarship and culture. The role of play in the philosophy of ancient times is highlighted. Classical playing theories are presented: Friedrich Schiller’s and Herbert Spencer’s theories of surplus forces, Richard Lazarus’ theory of recuperation, Karl Groos’ theory of exercise and G. Stanley Hall’s theory of recapitulation. Play (as a way to achieve pleasure) is examined through Karl Bühler’s theory. We pay attention to Freud’s psychodynamic theory in the context of understanding play, as well as the views of Erickson and Winnicott. Bateson’s metacommunicative theory is singled out separately. The theory of cognitive development by Piaget and Vygotsky pays special attention to the consideration of approaches to the understanding of play. The role of play in the context of pedagogical, cultural, and anthropological research is presented. Due to the analysis of the presented theories, we made the conclusion about the role of play in present-day culture. The study aims to find out the meaning of play in the representation of modern youth. To solve the tasks set, we used the sociological research method. As a result, we surveyed the young people of the city. This survey allowed us to understand the place of play in modern young people’s lives and reveal its attitude to gaming activities. With the help of a survey, we identified such essential functions of play as relaxation and entertainment. The least important of these was the psycho-technical function. Computer and desktop games were recognized as the most popular types of play among modern young people. The least interest among respondents is caused by such a type of play as gambling. This work is only an initial stage in the study. We plan to continue the study on a representative sample.