If Life Is a Game, How Come I'm Not Having Fun?

Paul Brenner

Description

In this lively and enlightening book, Paul Brenner suggests that treating life's events and everyday activities as a game would lead to a more socially functional and effective society. Through compelling suggestions and dynamic anecdotes, he conceptualizes all our economic, political, social, and spiritual pursuits in terms of role-play, and demonstrates the contribution this perspective can make to the happiness of individuals and to the systemic welfare of an increasingly complex social order.
Foreword, Carl Hosticka

Acknowledgments

Introduction

Part 1: Life by the Rules

1 What Life Is in the Modern Era

The Elks of Sporthaven
The World as a Stage
Bob Hope and the Knights of St. Gregory the Great with Star
Mirna, the Queen of Azaleas
Daily Living through Role-Play
A Vitamin Called "Viewing Life as a Game"
Childhood Memories

2 The Parallel Worlds We Live In

Private Dominions
The Religion Game
The Social Aspect of Religion
The Line between Belief and Make-Believe

3 Persona and Performance

The Meaning of Life for War Prisoners
Robert Landy's Role Categories in Everyday Life
Our Analog "I"

4 The Theatres of Society

Rules of Games
Play Smart—Choose the Right Theatre
Twenty Political and Two Business Roles

5 Think, Don't Believe

A Game Called "Advertising"
The Game Alcoholics Play
The Drama of Suffering
Play in Sickness

Part 2: Success Redefined

6 Can Work Be Playful?

Games of Strategy
The Multimillion-Dollar Executive Games of Virtual Reality
Vacationing on the Austrian Alps
Let's Play Sisters
A Historical Snapshot of Our Paradigm
Four Chords of Mental Health

7 A Journey's Aim

A Conversation with Nisragadatta
The Inmates' Revolt
In the Royal Gardens of Innsbruck
The Competitive Edge
Kohn's Case against Competition
The Meaning of Anxiety

8 Happiness and Bargains

Successful Executives Pay the Price
Kant and the Morality of Unhappiness
How "Success in Life" May Be Redefined
Martin
How It Came to Be That We Have Ten Commandments
Stretching Up Hands into the Mist

Part 3: Joyous Minds

9 The War Games Nations Play
A Game Bigger than Life
Elements of Adventure
In the Armed Forces
On the Theory That We Are Genetically Evil
On the Theory That We Are Born Tabula Rasa
On the Theory That We Are Genetically Both Good and Evil
Lessons from the Holocaust
The Elephant and the Fly
Riding the Roller Coaster

10 Peace Dance in the Moonlight

Alexander's Ideal: A World United in Peace
The Game of a City of Happy People
The Inside of a Cup

11 Theories of Play and Healing: Reviewing Research

Five Classical Theories of Play
J. C. Friedrich von Schiller
Five Contemporary Theories of Play
Pleasure versus Utility
Prof. Lewis Terman and the Famous "Termites"
Play Therapy and Healing
Role-Play and Creativity
The Perils of Illusion in Play
Animals at Play

12 Life Is Tough, Tough But Fun

Epilogue

Notes

Bibliography

Sujets

• Psychology
• Mind
• Body
• Spirit

Informations

• Publié par: State University of New York Press
• Date de parution: 19 avril 2001
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9780791490686
• Langue: English

Extrait

If Life Is a Game, How Come I’m Not Having Fun?

SUNY series in Communication Studies Dudley D. Cahn, editor

If Life Is a Game, How Come I’m Not Having Fun?

A Guide to Life’s Challenges

Paul Brenner Foreword by Carl Hosticka

STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK PRESS

Cover photo: Christopher Briscoe

Published by State University of New York Press, Albany

© 2001 State University of New York

All rights reserved

Printed in the United States of America

No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission. No part of this book may be stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means including electronic, electrostatic, magnetic tape, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without the prior permission in writing of the publisher.

For information, address State University of New York Press, 90 State Street, Suite 700, Albany, NY 12207

Production by Kristin Milavec and Judith Block Marketing by Dana E. Yanulavich

Library of Congress CataloginginPublication Data

Brenner, Paul If life is a game, how come I’m not having fun? : a guide to life’s challenges / Paul Brenner ; foreword by Carl Hosticka. p. cm. — (SUNY series in communication series) Includes bibliographical references. ISBN 0-7914-4963-7 (alk. paper) — ISBN 0-7914-4964-5 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Play—Psychological aspects. 2. Games—Psychological aspects. 3. Conduct of life. I. Title. II. Series.

BF717.B74 158—dc21

2001

10

9

8

7

6

5

4

3

2

1

00-044531

To my parents, my great-aunt Dr. Cecile Wechsler, and my beloved wife Priya

This page intentionally left blank.

A great philosopher and I, while walking one day, discovered the Ultimate Truth, the meaning and purpose of life. The meaning of life is to live, and the purpose of living is to love. Without love, life is mere existential coping. But of love, I had no clue. Three years ago I prayed for guidance, for wisdom, for love, and what I got was a two-year spiritual sabbatical, a walking meditation in which I provided God the time and space in which to transform me, mind, body and spirit. And miracles have and continue to occur on a regular basis. You, my dear friends, I con- sider to be one of those miracles. This great philosopher and I, while walking and talking, also determined that those who were loved early on, were blessed with the security of a healthy self-esteem, which allowed them to go forth into this world with less fear, open to and more willing to love. And with love, all things are possible, as love is God, and when one is loving, one is living, one is truly alive. Thank you, for all that you have done for us, the great food, the beach, companionship, but most importantly the love. May God continue to bless you, all the days of your life.

—Louie Rochon,Dedication to Paul Brenner,25 July 1998

This page intentionally left blank.

Foreword,Hosticka Carl Acknowledgments

Contents

Introduction Part 1: Life by the Rules 1 What Life Is in the Modern Era The Elks of Sporthaven, 10 The World as a Stage, 11 Bob Hope and the Knights of St. Gregory the Great with Star, 12 Mirna, the Queen of Azaleas, 14 Daily Living through Role-Play, 16 A Vitamin Called “Viewing Life as a Game,” 17 Childhood Memories, 19 2 The Parallel Worlds We Live In Private Dominions, 25 The Religion Game, 27 The Social Aspect of Religion, 31 The Line between Belief and Make-Believe, 32 3 Persona and Performance The Meaning of Life for War Prisoners, 38 Robert Landy’s Role Categories in Everyday Life, 40 Our Analog “I,” 42

ix

xiii xv

1

9

23

35