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'''''Finite and Infinite Games''''' is a book by [[religious studies|religious]] scholar [[James P. Carse]].<ref>{{cite book|author=Carse, James P.|title=Finite and Infinite Games|publisher=Ballantine Books|location=New York|year=|pages=|isbn=0-345-34184-8|oclc=|doi=}}</ref>
'''''Finite and Infinite Games''''' is a book by [[religious studies|religious]] scholar [[James P. Carse]].<ref>{{cite book|author=Carse, James P.|title=Finite and Infinite Games|publisher=Ballantine Books|location=New York|year=1987|pages=|isbn=978-0-345-34184-6|oclc=|doi=}}</ref>


==Summary==
==Summary==
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== Reception ==
== Reception ==
''Finite and Infinite Games'' received mixed reviews. Howard A. Paul suggests that the book would be valuable in the education of therapists.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Paul |first1=Howard A. |title=BRIEFLY NOTED: FINITE AND INFINITE GAMES: A VISION OF LIFE AS PLAY AND POSSIBILITY. |journal=Child & Family Behavior Therapy |date=11 January 2005 |volume=26 |issue=4 |pages=87–89 |doi=10.1300/J019v26n04_06|quote=If there are courses within behaviorally oriented graduate psychology training institutions dealing with the philosophy of therapy or wishing to address the existential base of much of what goes on inside psychotherapy more fully, this book would be a valuable addition to the reading list.}}</ref>, whereas Francis Kane of the [[New York Times]] was critical of the book's premise and logic.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Kane |first1=Francis |title=Machines Are Out, Gardens Are In |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1987/04/12/books/machines-are-out-gardens-are-in.html |accessdate=7 January 2019 |work=The New York Times |date=12 April 1987 |quote=Halfway through this book I became like a viewer of a B movie, rooting for the villain -that hapless finite player.}}</ref> Meanwhile technologist [[Kevin Kelly (editor)|Kevin Kelly]] has praised it for "alter[ing] my thinking about life, the universe, and everything."<ref>{{cite book |last1=Kelly |first1=Kevin |title=[[What Technology Wants]] |date=2010 |publisher=Viking Press |isbn=978-0-670-02215-1|page=365}}</ref> Reviews in ''[[Commonweal (magazine)|Commonweal]]'' and ''[[Publishers Weekly]]'' were more balanced.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Moran |first1=Gabriel |title=Religious Book Week--Critics' Choices |journal=Commonweal |date=13 Mar 1987 |volume=114 |issue=5 |page=157|issn=0010-3330|quote=It is filled with catchy examples and clever twists that force the reader to confront ultimate questions. One might disagree with his premise and therefore not like his conclusion; his argument, nevertheless, is almost irresistible.}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Stuttaford |first1=Genevieve |title=Nonfiction--Finite and Infinite Games |journal=The Publisher's Weekly |date=11 July 1986 |volume=230 |issue=2 |page=62 |issn= 0000-0019 |quote=Profound and provocative when he is not being glib or pontificating, Carse urges us to become "infinite players," storytellers who can never know the outcome of our own stories.}}</ref> Theology professor [[John F. Haught]] notes the connection between Carse's book and the works of [[Søren Kierkegaard]], [[Henri Bergson]], [[Renee Descartes]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Haught |first1=John F. |title=The Best Way to Do Philosophy |work=The Washington Times Magazine |date=5 January 1987 |page=6M |quote=Though he does not use the traditional expressions "faith" or "idolatry," possibly because such words have lost their punch for many of us, the book is really a subtle and seductive restating of the fundamental options of authentic vs. inauthentic existence previously set forth by the likes of Søren Kierkegaard.... But, as in the case of Bergson and modern existentialism (which seems to have deeply influenced the author), the spirit of Descartes still hovers over Mr. Carse's dichotomies at the same time that Descartes' mechanism is being challenged.}}</ref>
''Finite and Infinite Games'' received mixed reviews. Howard A. Paul suggests that the book would be valuable in the education of therapists.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Paul |first1=Howard A. |title=BRIEFLY NOTED: FINITE AND INFINITE GAMES: A VISION OF LIFE AS PLAY AND POSSIBILITY. |journal=Child & Family Behavior Therapy |date=11 January 2005 |volume=26 |issue=4 |pages=87–89 |doi=10.1300/J019v26n04_06|quote=If there are courses within behaviorally oriented graduate psychology training institutions dealing with the philosophy of therapy or wishing to address the existential base of much of what goes on inside psychotherapy more fully, this book would be a valuable addition to the reading list.}}</ref>, whereas Francis Kane of the [[New York Times]] was critical of the book's premise and logic.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Kane |first1=Francis |title=Machines Are Out, Gardens Are In |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1987/04/12/books/machines-are-out-gardens-are-in.html |accessdate=7 January 2019 |work=The New York Times |date=12 April 1987 |quote=Halfway through this book I became like a viewer of a B movie, rooting for the villain -that hapless finite player.}}</ref> Meanwhile technologist [[Kevin Kelly (editor)|Kevin Kelly]] has praised it for "alter[ing] my thinking about life, the universe, and everything."<ref>{{cite book |last1=Kelly |first1=Kevin |title=What Technology Wants |date=2010 |publisher=Viking Press |isbn=978-0-670-02215-1|page=365|title-link=What Technology Wants }}</ref> Reviews in ''[[Commonweal (magazine)|Commonweal]]'' and ''[[Publishers Weekly]]'' were more balanced.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Moran |first1=Gabriel |title=Religious Book Week--Critics' Choices |journal=Commonweal |date=13 Mar 1987 |volume=114 |issue=5 |page=157|issn=0010-3330|quote=It is filled with catchy examples and clever twists that force the reader to confront ultimate questions. One might disagree with his premise and therefore not like his conclusion; his argument, nevertheless, is almost irresistible.}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Stuttaford |first1=Genevieve |title=Nonfiction--Finite and Infinite Games |journal=The Publisher's Weekly |date=11 July 1986 |volume=230 |issue=2 |page=62 |issn= 0000-0019 |quote=Profound and provocative when he is not being glib or pontificating, Carse urges us to become "infinite players," storytellers who can never know the outcome of our own stories.}}</ref> Theology professor [[John F. Haught]] notes the connection between Carse's book and the works of [[Søren Kierkegaard]], [[Henri Bergson]], [[Renee Descartes]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Haught |first1=John F. |title=The Best Way to Do Philosophy |work=The Washington Times Magazine |date=5 January 1987 |page=6M |quote=Though he does not use the traditional expressions "faith" or "idolatry," possibly because such words have lost their punch for many of us, the book is really a subtle and seductive restating of the fundamental options of authentic vs. inauthentic existence previously set forth by the likes of Søren Kierkegaard.... But, as in the case of Bergson and modern existentialism (which seems to have deeply influenced the author), the spirit of Descartes still hovers over Mr. Carse's dichotomies at the same time that Descartes' mechanism is being challenged.}}</ref>


== See also ==
== See also ==

Revision as of 19:19, 26 March 2019

Finite and Infinite Games
AuthorJames P. Carse
Publication date
1986 (1986)
ISBN0-345-34184-8

Finite and Infinite Games is a book by religious scholar James P. Carse.[1]

Summary

Finite vs. infinite games

Carse summarizes his argument, "There are at least two kinds of games: finite and infinite. Finite games are those instrumental activities - from sports to politics to wars - in which the participants obey rules, recognize boundaries and announce winners and losers. The infinite game - there is only one - includes any authentic interaction, from touching to culture, that changes rules, plays with boundaries and exists solely for the purpose of continuing the game. A finite player seeks power; the infinite one displays self-sufficient strength. Finite games are theatrical, necessitating an audience; infinite ones are dramatic, involving participants..."[2][3]

Sexuality, history, society, wealth, religion, story-telling

Carse continues these conceptualizations across all major spheres of human affairs. He extends his themes broadly over several intellectual arenas that are largely otherwise disparate disciplines. He describes human pursuits as either dramatic (enacted in the present) or theatrical (performed according to a script of some kind). This distinction hinges on an agent's decision to engage in one state of affairs or another. If motherhood is a requirement and a duty, there are rules to be obeyed and goals to be achieved. This is motherhood as theatrical role. If motherhood is a choice and a process, it becomes a living drama. Carse spans objective and subjective realms and bridges many gaps among different scholarly traditions.

Reception

Finite and Infinite Games received mixed reviews. Howard A. Paul suggests that the book would be valuable in the education of therapists.[4], whereas Francis Kane of the New York Times was critical of the book's premise and logic.[5] Meanwhile technologist Kevin Kelly has praised it for "alter[ing] my thinking about life, the universe, and everything."[6] Reviews in Commonweal and Publishers Weekly were more balanced.[7][8] Theology professor John F. Haught notes the connection between Carse's book and the works of Søren Kierkegaard, Henri Bergson, Renee Descartes.[9]

See also

References

  1. ^ Carse, James P. (1987). Finite and Infinite Games. New York: Ballantine Books. ISBN 978-0-345-34184-6.
  2. ^ Kane, Francis (1987-04-12). "Machines Are Out, Gardens Are In". The New York Times. Retrieved 2018-07-19.
  3. ^ Hyers, M Conrad (17 Dec 1986). "Books: Finite and infinite games". The Christian Century. 103 (39). Chicago: Christian Century Foundation: 1152. ISSN 0009-5281. For Carse, one may apply this distinction throughout the whole range of human interest and behavior. Most people tend to approach all areas of their lives as finite games. Carse, however, invites us to become players of infinite games.
  4. ^ Paul, Howard A. (11 January 2005). "BRIEFLY NOTED: FINITE AND INFINITE GAMES: A VISION OF LIFE AS PLAY AND POSSIBILITY". Child & Family Behavior Therapy. 26 (4): 87–89. doi:10.1300/J019v26n04_06. If there are courses within behaviorally oriented graduate psychology training institutions dealing with the philosophy of therapy or wishing to address the existential base of much of what goes on inside psychotherapy more fully, this book would be a valuable addition to the reading list.
  5. ^ Kane, Francis (12 April 1987). "Machines Are Out, Gardens Are In". The New York Times. Retrieved 7 January 2019. Halfway through this book I became like a viewer of a B movie, rooting for the villain -that hapless finite player.
  6. ^ Kelly, Kevin (2010). What Technology Wants. Viking Press. p. 365. ISBN 978-0-670-02215-1.
  7. ^ Moran, Gabriel (13 Mar 1987). "Religious Book Week--Critics' Choices". Commonweal. 114 (5): 157. ISSN 0010-3330. It is filled with catchy examples and clever twists that force the reader to confront ultimate questions. One might disagree with his premise and therefore not like his conclusion; his argument, nevertheless, is almost irresistible.
  8. ^ Stuttaford, Genevieve (11 July 1986). "Nonfiction--Finite and Infinite Games". The Publisher's Weekly. 230 (2): 62. ISSN 0000-0019. Profound and provocative when he is not being glib or pontificating, Carse urges us to become "infinite players," storytellers who can never know the outcome of our own stories.
  9. ^ Haught, John F. (5 January 1987). "The Best Way to Do Philosophy". The Washington Times Magazine. p. 6M. Though he does not use the traditional expressions "faith" or "idolatry," possibly because such words have lost their punch for many of us, the book is really a subtle and seductive restating of the fundamental options of authentic vs. inauthentic existence previously set forth by the likes of Søren Kierkegaard.... But, as in the case of Bergson and modern existentialism (which seems to have deeply influenced the author), the spirit of Descartes still hovers over Mr. Carse's dichotomies at the same time that Descartes' mechanism is being challenged.
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