One of the most important historians of the 20th century presents in this book a general theory about the genesis of human civilization: civilization is born from the innate tendency of humans to play, and various cultural forms, from law and philosophy to poetry and art, can be understood as expressions or transformations of the fundamental drive toward play.

Through this lens, a wealth of historical, ethnological, and literary material is analyzed, while simultaneously opening up prospects for a deeper understanding of the course and evolution of civilization as a whole.

The book contains the following sections:

• The nature and significance of play as a cultural phenomenon
• The concept of play as expressed in language
• Play and struggle as civilizing functions
• Play and law
• Play and war
• Play and knowledge
• Play and poetry
• The elements of mythologizing
• Forms of play in philosophy
• Forms of play in art
• Western civilization through the lens of play
• The element of play in modern culture