THE PLAY OF MAN
BY
KARL GROOS
PROFESSOR OF PHILOSOPHY IN THE
UNIVERSITY OF BASEL
AUTHOR OF THE PLAY OF ANIMALS
TRANSLATED WITH THE AUTHOR’S CO-OPERATION
By ELIZABETH L. BALDWIN
WITH A PREFACE BY
J. MARK BALDWIN, Ph. D., hon. D. Sc. (Oxon.)
PROFESSOR IN PRINCETON UNIVERSITY
NEW YORK
D. APPLETON AND COMPANY
1901
Copyright, 1901,
By D. APPLETON AND COMPANY.
EDITOR’S PREFACE
The present writer contributed a somewhat lengthy preface and also anappendix to the translation of the author’s earlier volume, The Playof Animals, mainly because—apart from the expressed wish of ProfessorGroos—he wanted to say something about the book. It is a pleasure tohim now to have the justification for it which comes from the adoptionby Professor Groos in this volume of the suggestions made in thetranslation of the earlier one. The main points have all been acceptedand used by the author (see pp. 265, 376, 395, of this volume, forexample), and further discussions of them have been brought out. Thisis said in view of the opinion of many that “introductions” are alwaysout of place.
A notable thing about the present volume, considered in relation to thePlay of Animals, is the modification of the theory of play as respectsits criteria—a point fully explained by the author in his Introduction(see especially p. 5).
The present writer’s editorial function has been confined to theinsertion of various notes, and the suggesting to the translatorof certain renderings; both mainly of a terminological sort (seepp. 5, 122, 133, 264, for examples). In this connection it has beenfound possible to anticipate and follow the recommendations made inthe present writer’s Dictionary of Philosophy and Psychology (nowin press), seeing that Professor Groos is in active co-operationwith the committee engaged upon the German-English equivalents ofthat work, in so far adopted here. A particular case is the groupof renderings: “Preparation” (Vorübung), “Habituation” (Einüivbung),“Exercise” (Ausübung), all terms of the “Practice” (Uebung) theoryof play. Another case is the set of terms applied to the variousreactions of “Shyness”—e. g., “Bashfulness” (Schüchternheit),“Coyness” (Sprödigkeit), “Modesty” (Bescheidenheit), “Shame” (Scham),etc. Biologists will note the adoption of “Rudiment” for Anlage in itsbiological sense.
Intrinsically the work will be found a worthy companion to The Play ofAnimals, a book which has already become famous.
J. Mark Baldwin.
Princeton University, February, 1901.
AUTHOR’S PREFACE
In this work my aim is to present the anthropological aspects of thesame subject treated of in my psychological investigation of animalplay, published in 1896, which may be said to have been a pioneerattem