Books by Roger Caillois

Though his subjects were diverse, French social theorist Roger Caillois focused on issues crucial to modern intellectual life, and his essays offer a perspective on many of twentieth-century France's most significant intellectual movements and figures. This book offers an introduction to the writing of Caillois (1913-1978).

According to Roger Caillois, play is "an occasion of pure waste. In spite of this - or because of it - play constitutes an essential element of human social and spiritual development. In this study, the author defines play as a free and voluntary activity that occurs in a pure space, isolated and protected from the rest of life.