Edited by Tomaso Pignocchi and Francesco Giuseppe Trotta

«I know of no other manner of dealing with great tasks, than as play: this, as a sign of greatness, is an essential
prerequisite» (F. Nietzsche, Ecce homo, in The complete works of Friedrich Nietzsche, vol. 17, p. 53)

 

From Nietzsche onward, the concept of play has taken on a distinct and central role within philosophical
thought. While in modernity it finds key antecedents in Kant and Schiller, it is in his work that the notion undergoes
a profound expansion, extending its reach into cosmology, ontology, ethics, and epistemology. Spiel becomes one
of the key terms through which he articulates his radical critique of metaphysics.
Nietzsche’s engagement with the concept of play, especially in its relation to philosophy, has led to a profound
rethinking of how philosophical thought can proceed after him. In particular, it compels us to revisit not only his
critique of metaphysics, but also the ways in which subsequent philosophy has attempted to respond to it, placing
the notion of play at the center of that reflection.
Although Nietzsche represents a decisive turning point, the philosophical significance of play already finds early
expression in ancient Greek thought, from Heraclitus’s cosmic imagery to Plato’s dialectic. These ancient
intuitions, however, re-emerge with new force in the twentieth century, especially among those thinkers who, in
one way or another, carry forward Nietzsche’s legacy of anti-metaphysical critique.
It is no coincidence, then, that the idea of play surfaces – sometimes unexpectedly – in the work of many major
twentieth-century philosophers. While any attempt to compile an exhaustive list would inevitably fall short, it is
enough to recall figures such as Colli, Fink, Heidegger, Gadamer, Benjamin, Freud, Wittgenstein, Bataille,
Klossowski, Blanchot, Derrida, Merleau-Ponty, Axelos, Deleuze, and even Levinas (though in his case through a
radically critical inversion). In the work of each of these philosophers, the idea of play surfaces at pivotal
moments—precisely where what is at stake is the very definition of philosophy itself and its foundational
presuppositions. Examples include Heidegger’s critique of the principle of sufficient reason, Fink’s cosmological
speculation, Derrida’s notion of trace, Blanchot’s literary-philosophical writing, Deleuze’s difference and
repetition, and, of course, Wittgenstein’s language games.
In short, the history of twentieth-century philosophy suggests not only that play has become one of its central
objects of inquiry, but also that it tends to emerge whenever what is “at play” is the meaning and scope of
philosophy itself. The relationship between philosophy and play, therefore, is no longer one of discipline and
object, but rather – borrowing a Wittgensteinian phrase – one of “family resemblance.”
But what exactly are we talking about when we talk about play? Is it something for which we possess clear
terms and stable categorizations, or is it rather what perpetually resists conceptual grasp? Even the seemingly
simple observation that English distinguishes between play and game, or that the German Spiel encompasses an
exceptionally broad semantic range, already points to the inherent difficulty of definition.
Perhaps it is no coincidence that these very difficulties mirror those faced by anyone who dares to ask, “What
is philosophy?” In both cases, one is led to suspect that the true difficulty lies not merely in the object of inquiry,
but in the very form of the question itself – the essentialist “what is?” – as if such a formulation were already
misaligned with the nature of what it seeks to grasp.
The twentieth century is the period in which the question of the essence of play became increasingly pressing
across a wide range of disciplines. Foundational works such as Johan Huizinga’s Homo Ludens and Roger Caillois’
Les Jeux et les hommes marked a decisive turning point in the analysis of the phenomenon. Yet in both cases, what
ultimately seems to emerge is the impossibility of assigning play a single, closed definition.
Play – whatever it may mean, and however one seeks to classify or articulate it (be it children’s play, wordplay,
sport, agon, alea, mimicry, ilinx, and so on) – enters through the front door, only to slip out the back. Conceptually
speaking, the blanket never seems quite large enough to cover it.
Nonetheless, if the past century witnessed an extraordinary proliferation of studies on play, these studies
spanned nearly the entire spectrum of the so-called human sciences—from psychology to linguistics, from
anthropology to theology. The twentieth century – so often marked by tragedy – may paradoxically also be
regarded, in a certain sense, as the “century of play.”
In recent decades, scholarly interest in play has either waned or become fragmented, often shifting into the
more specialized domain of Game Studies or reappearing only sporadically within philosophical discourse. What
has largely been lost in this process is the deeper, problematic nexus between philosophy and play, a relationship
that inevitably bears upon our ways of thinking about politics, ethics, and the history of philosophy itself.
More recently, especially in the Anglophone world, this issue has begun to resurface through both monographic
studies and collective volumes. The forthcoming issue of Pólemos seeks to reconnect the broken threads of the
philosophical discussion on play and to revitalize its scope and contemporary relevance from a perspective that is
at once theoretical, aesthetic, ethical, political, and philosophical-historical.
In this light, the issue also aims to outline the contours of what might be called a philosophical genealogy of
play, an inquiry into its origins in ancient Greek thought, its development through Roman, medieval, and modern
philosophy, and the roles it has played within non-Western philosophical traditions.

Possible lines of inquiry include:

• The idea of play in twentieth-century thinkers, approached from either a monographic or a comparative perspective
• The idea of play in the history of Western philosophy
• The aesthetic dimensions of play in philosophical or artistic contexts
• The relationship between play and politics
• The relationship between play and language
• The concept of play from the standpoint of moral philosophy
• The relationship between play and cosmology
• A comparative investigation of the idea of play across cultures and traditions outside the Western canon
• The interplay between play, philosophy, and writing
• Theological reflections on play

Submission Guidelines
Articles should not exceed 40,000 characters (including spaces) and must be accompanied by an abstract of
1,000 characters in both Italian and English. Submissions are to be sent via email to cfp@rivistapolemos.it by
October 15, 2025, in one of the following formats: .doc, .docx, or .odt.
Please submit the article and abstract in a single document prepared for anonymous review (double-blind peer
review). Contributions directly relevant to the suggested lines of inquiry are especially welcome. Articles addressing
related areas connected to the theme will also be considered.
Submissions in Italian, English, French, German, and Spanish are accepted.