The Grasshopper Games, Life and Utopia By Bernard Suits Introduced by Thomas Hurka
In the mid twentieth century the philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein famously asserted that games are indefinable; there are no common threads that link them all. "Nonsense," says the sensible Bernard Suits: "playing a game is a voluntary attempt to overcome unnecessary obstacles." The short book Suits wrote demonstrating precisely that is as playful as it is insightful, as stimulating as it is delightful. Suits not only argues that games can be meaningfully defined; he also suggests that playing games is a central part of the ideal of human existence, so games belong at the heart of any vision of Utopia.
Originally published in 1978, The Grasshopper is now re-issued with a new introduction by Thomas Hurka and with additional material (much of it previously unpublished) by the author, in which he expands on the ideas put forward in The Grasshopper and answers some questions that have been raised by critics.
......(更多)
About the Author
Bernard Suits is Distinguished Emeritus Professor of Philosophy, the University of Waterloo.
Thomas Hurka is Jackman Distinguished Professor of Philosophy, the University of Toronto; his works include Principles (a collection of his Globe and Mail columns), Perfectionism, and Virtue, Vice, and Value.
......(更多)
......(更多)
因此・動物在滿足需求之後・照理不會繼續埋頭追求食物遮蔽處與安全・就此角度來說動物有時候被認為優於人類後者常常不知何時該停止工具性利益的追求,特別是金錢與權力。例如像盧梭( Rousseau)等思想家所實踐的動物哲學( philosophical zoology)就認為只有文明的人類會成金錢奴丶貪婪家與夫・動物或高貴野人( noble savage)並不會。
阅读《蚱蜢:游戏、生命与乌托邦》,没有一般哲学书的艰涩、枯燥,更多的是悠游在苏格拉底的智慧、《新约全书》的教导、莎士比亚的机智、《伊索寓言》的奇想、现代人的奇闻轶事以及许多让人喷饭的想象的长河中。稍不留神,还会变身蚱蜢、蚂蚁、柏拉图、搭电扶梯登上圣母峰的记者、装着导航器的高尔夫球、史上最强的间谍,一股脑掉进书中的对话风景,不能自拔。
......(更多)