Document Type

Article

Publication Date

1-2-2018

Publication Source

Sport, Ethics and Philosophy

Volume Number

12

Issue Number

1

First Page

81

Last Page

93

Publisher

Taylor & Francis

ISSN

1751-1321

Comments

This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Sport, Ethics and Philosophy on January 2, 2018, available online: http://www.tandfonline.com/10.1080/17511321.2017.1300603.

Abstract

While we often see games as less serious or at least less transcendental than religion there is reason to believe that games can evoke similarly meaningful narratives that allow us to learn a great deal about ourselves and our world. And games do so often using the same symbolic and metaphorical mechanisms that generate meaning in religious experience. In this paper, I explore some of the ways in which game myths—the myths created from and through games—generate meaning in our lives. People experience myths in games very similarly to how they might in religion. I first explain what myth means in contemporary literature and then show how the very make up of games opens them to a mythical reality. I highlight two ways in particular. I will argue that the inefficiencies within games promote a deep engagement with the world, and this gratuitous nature provides a system for creating myths and actualizing mythical potential.

Keywords

Games, myths, spirituality, inefficiency, Suits

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