The significance of play
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The significance of play
I have observed that play is an older phenomenon compared to culture despite the fact that culture has always presupposed humanity inadequately. This has been wrong because animals have always been playing without man teaching them to do so. There is no essential feature that is new to the general phenomenon of play, which would be attributed to human civilization, as the aspect of play is common for both animals and men. Just like men, animals such as dogs invite their fellow animals of the same species to play by gesture and have rules that are followed such as not biting hard while playing (Huizinga & Ludens, 1955). In their play, they pretend to be annoyed and most importantly experience a lot of fun and enjoyment. In addition to this simple form of animal play, other forms are highly developed such as interesting performances and regular contests admired by the public. All forms of play have more meaning than being a mere physiological reflex action. Psychologists and physiologists observe, describe and analyze plays in children and mature human beings as well as animals to determine the place of play in life. However, people take for granted the utility and necessity of play, which has necessitated scientific research on its importance (Huizinga & Ludens, 1955).
Research on the importance of play has generated many questions and answers. So what if there was no play? If there were no play, the young creature would not have training for the serious work later in life. So what if humans did not play? If humans did not play, they would not have an opportunity to exercise for good health (Huizinga & Ludens, 1955). So what if the principle of play did not exist? If the principle of play did not exist, the innate urge for humans to exercise a particular faculty, compete or dominate would not be satisfied (Huizinga & Ludens, 1955). So what if there was no play? If there were no play, harmful impulses in humans would not have an outlet. So what if human wasted a lot of energy doing one activity without playing? If humans did not play when exhausted, there would be no way of restoring the lost energy. All these questions and answers explain the biological purpose of play as a culture in both animals and human beings (Huizinga & Ludens, 1955).