Hermeneutics
Merleau-Ponty—Play
"my body simultaneously sees and is seen. That which looks at all things can also look at itself and recognize, in what it sees, the "other side" of its power of looking."
Gadamer—Event, Presentation, Play
"The being of art cannot be defined as an object of an aesthetic consciousness because, on the contrary, the aesthetic attitude is more than it knows of itself. It is a part of the event of being that occurs in presentation, and belongs essentially to play as play." (p.115)
Gadamer—art = play = nature
"Inasmuch as nature is without purpose and intention, just as it is without exertion, it is a constantly self-renewing play, and can therefore appear as a model for art." (P. 105)
Gadamer—on why we 'play'
"It is part of play that the movement is not only without goal or purpose but also without effort... The ease of play—which... refers phenomenologically only to the absence of strain—is experienced subjectively as relaxation. The structure of play absorbs the player into itself, and thus frees him from... the strain of existence. This is also seen in the spontaneous tendency to repetition."
Gadamer—etymology of 'play'
"If we examine how the word "play" is used... In each case what is intended is to-and-fro movement that is not tied to any goal that would bring it to an end... rather, it renews itself in constant repetition... It is the game that is played—it is irrelevant whether or not there is a subject who plays it." (p.104)
Gadamer—work of art as experience
"Instead the work of art has its true being in the fact that it becomes an experience that changes the person who experiences" (p.103)
Gadamer—on 'play'
"Seriousness is not merely something that calls us away from play; rather, seriousness in playing is necessary to make the play wholly play" (p.103)
Gadamer—on aesthetic consciousness and the real
"conceiving aesthetic consciousness as something that confronts an object does not do justice to the real situation." (p.102)
Gadamer—on 'play'
"When we speak of play in reference to the experience of art, this means neither the orientation nor even the state of mind of the creator or of those enjoying the work of art, nor the freedom of a subjectivity engaged in play, but the mode of being of the work of art itself." (p.102)