Footnote:
In English
Mode of access: Internet via World Wide Web
Description:
Aesop’s improvidnt Grasshopper is the protagonist of this delightful tour-de-force, a playful yet thoroughly serious philosophical dialogue in which he develops, Socratically, a utopian world-view: that life is, ideally, to be thought of as consisting of games, and that the good life should be concerned with play, not work. In arriving at his conclusions, the Grasshopper takes the reader on a mischievous but disciplined romp through the moral philosophy of gaming, including considerations of espionage, make-believe, “zero-sum” strategy, cheating, lovemaking, competition, horseplay, mountain climbing, professionalism, riddles, seduction, and much, much more. Wittily illustrated by Frank Newfeld, THE GRASSHOPPER is itself the kind of game of which it treats: a spirited and challenging intellectual adventure that is also, quite simply, good fun
Frontmatter -- Contents -- Preface -- Acknowledgments -- The players -- 1 Death of the Grasshopper -- 2 Disciples -- 3 Construction of a definition -- 4 Triflers, cheats, and spoilsports -- 5 Taking the long way home -- 6 Ivan and Abdul -- 7 Games and paradox -- 8 Mountain climbing -- 9 Reverse English -- 10 The remarkable career of Porphyryo Sneak -- 11 The case history of Bartholomew Drag -- 12 Open games -- 13 Amateurs, professionals, and Games People Play -- 14 Resurrection -- 15 Resolution