Finite and Infinite Games: A Vision of Life as Play and Possibility
by Carse, James P.
Published: January 1, 1986
Read: August 16, 2020
Review
Fascinating. An elegant model of the world. No real evidence offered to prove the simple model is correct, but trying on the perspective was illuminating. Nothing has ever more clearly ripped the grand curtain down for me to show that our society is only one of many possible societies and everything is made up. Finite games like money and status are ONLY valuable because there is an audience. If no one acknowledges your money legitimate or achievements impressive, then they would literally cease to exist. These are the theatrical games we all play. Short chapters with a rollercoaster of perspectives. It is relativistic, but instead of slipping into nihilism offers the uplifting life of the infinite player enjoying their infinite game. Would you like to play?
Notes
1 2 types of games
Finite game played to win . Infinite to keep playing. Finite game ends only when the player agree someone has one. Not spectators, and if players don’t agree game not played to goal. No finite game unless people freely chose to play. Play freely, can’t must play. Finite game must begin and end with temporal and special boundary with specified players. Can’t play alone. Only one person can win, but other players could be ranked. Infinite players don’t have temporal boundary, goal to keep pounding and anyone can jump in and out. Internal time. Finite game can be inside infinite game, but not the opposite. Finite game also have rules of play limiting players. Rules valid if players agree that it is Hari hope they decide winning. Infinite genes have rules change. If rules change in finite game it’s. A different game. Finite games play within boundaries, infinite play with boundaries. Finite games players only counts action towards the goal as part of the game. Players must forget the voluntary nature and be the role. Need to be serious. Infinite players are Hegel playful abstractly. Abstract as substitution of part of whole as whole. “Freely use masks in social engagement but not without acknowledging to themselves and others that they are wearing a mask”. Regard people as a person playing someone as a role. Police officer or someone acting as a police officer. To be serious is to desire one outcome, playing is more open. Infinite game is the whole that is the whole. Can be said this person played this game or that game. Can only be said they played in such a way that what they started can’t be finished. Finite players theatrical dramatic, takes on role of mother. If they win, we say they knew how to play. That outcome is not known makes it a game. Finite players want to be so good they know the script fad if it happened already. Surprise in finite play is triump of past over future, knowing path and hid their moves and concealing . Infinite players want surprise and play in openness not candor but vulnerablitu. Dynamic self that has yet to be, will be transformed by surprise. Education is to be trained for surprise. Finite games played for title and title valuable if they are recognized and remembered. Terminal move basically kills the opposite and thus ends the game. Soldiers retired jersey. Live on not in afterlife but afterworld where your titular is remembered. Some people dedicated to immortality sacrifice some life now to win it. Life is not play but the outcome of play. Won not lived. Because of purpose of finite games is to win, all finite play is aimed to end the game. Immortal soul would not help, about preserving selfhood, the Supreme example of finite game. Infinite players dies in the course of play, live for their own play. Finite plays for immortality death is defeat, infinite plays to play with laughter with others. Infinite players want to keep playing with others and only play when others go on, best when the game continues without them. Name given at the start of play for infinite games, title after something happens. Titles are theatrical and earned in unchanging part. Manner of address and behavior. Can’t deprive someone of their title, and so with recognition people must give up change to win in that area. Power always compared to others and only concept in finite play. Can’t determine power until end of play because undetermined. To see power is to look back in time, you win to be powerful not because you are power. Power beastie’besyowed by an audience not part of someone inherently. Deferring to someone with a title is considering yourself a loser. All limitations of finite games are self imposed. Infinite players don’t look back but future that will require interpretation of post. Infinite players plays with strength, can’t be measured. Because it can allow people to what they wish in course of that play with them. Infinite play ends to evil and people stop playing. Infinite players don’t play for power. Culture dying when colonists came to America, killed by finite games. Evil is never intended as evil. Evil to act as past will come to a specified end. Infinite players don’t try to eliminate evil because that is evil.
Chapter 32 Can’t play alone
Can’t be human alone. Only that that can change can continue in infinite games. Those who must play cannot play. Finite games have fixed points of references. Challenge is how to keep all our finite games in infinite games or keep serious within playful z. Misunderstood as finding playfulness in finite games, entertainment diversion. But inevitable, seriousness creeps in and vacation becomes way to play the finite game better like a ceo vacation. Child lay goes into extracurricular that make us better in adult games.
Infinite players warfare and heroism requires someone ride to agree to be your enemy. Contradiction, political fighting for freedom is theatrical. Culture is different from society because culture is voluntary and open ended. Society sometimes embraces a culture. Society is what people do as necessity, schools. Power in a society relies on power of the society compared to others. In interest of society to encourage competition within a society because those most likely to defend it against other societies. Deviation from society anti society. If people don’t play, then the winners of the game don’t have power. We memorialize football players because we still play it. Culture doesn’t have tradition it is.
36 essential to society identity to forget it is a species of culture. Must forget they chose to live in culture. Can’t Chose to be America, can choose to be American. Ownership of property is like titles bestowed by society.
37 society creates property. No amount of force can convince someone of ownership, just stop them. Agreement see society as guide to action, rather than powerful opponent. Property must introduce theatrical so people respect it.
39 People should be able to show correspondence between effort expended and reward of property. Property is attempt to give someone making up for past loss.
40 rich should then consume their properties in way that they are giving up property. High consumption shows high ast cost. Property must intrude on others. Wealth not so much possessed as it is performed.
41 some societies they can alienate theievary by guarteening them property. That won’t persuade them they don’t own the coin in my pocket. Better to persuade thieves they instead become audience to theater of wealth and thus artists that can theatricalize it are essential.
42alexander and Napoleon tookb aritist in society. Acute danger that soldiers will find no audience for their prizes and thus no reason to fight. Art can’t be owned. Don’t watch artist but watch person to see their artistry. No rules can’t be trained.
43 rules About agreement not required and infinite players know this. Infinite players goes to the horizon, finite game towers s boundary. Culture is horizonal. Can enter mode of reniancsee, continuous changes by your adoption.
War is conflict between bounded society, and helps society boundaries. Finite players rue their successes without new challenges. Plato saysArtist deceive by leading you to a idea, and leading you to implies you don’t know where you are going. Artists don’t paint art, but paint real in a way tat you become aware that it is art.
Chapter 3 I am the genius of myself
It is I notThe nervous system that feels. Difference between talking to you as if you are a genius or talking to an audience in front of you. Repeating your words isn’t you producing them. You are the producer of your wits.
Everything is the environment. To look is to bring limitations to world. Parents wanted a child, couldn’t have wanted me. As you born, who you are already partially determined by by circumstance. So you take up the roles set up for you as son etc because you will play that script your entire life. if you have no titles, an anti title you must prove to others that you are not who it seems you were. In the past.
Winners must play the script and often retire rather than keep playing.
To be touched is to respond and change in yourself behind the veils. Sick is something that stops you. Not diseases of weight even though I can’t fly. But maybe if I am an actor. Pornography is only exciting because it is forbidden. Sexuality is the only finite game where prize is the loser. Double game which is each is the winner and loser. Sexuality can reduce distance to , yet not touch or moved as defined above. Parents can become audience not by what they think, but what we think they thought. Civilization can do this on higher level. Most desired form of property is possession of another persons that they consent to. Best property are those that most convince you I’m a winner.
59 sexual desires concealed under saints and desires costumes, settings. Seduction can’t be repeated. Goal to begin using to end. Infinite players recognize choice, don’t play within social boundaries and let others and themselves be as they are. More shot being themselves. No private parts. Expression of person, drama of touching.
Chapter 4
Finite game within a world. Rules about temporal spatial ness of game. FiniteGame Not about what players and what time they play. Game and winner only makes sense in reference to the world. World exists in reference to an audience. Unity in audience to care about the winner. There is an indefinite number of worlds. Finite players compete for a prized past.
Time doesn’t pass for an infinite player. Can have session of time, fill work with time not the other way around. Moving towards a future which itself has a future.
69 infinite players join audience for play in observing. Look but know they are looking. Infinite play is invisible to the finite observer. Infinite players play for eternal birth while finite play for eternal life in titles.
Chapter 5 Nature is the realm of the unspeakable
Doesn’t care about human culture. We believe nature has a structure understandable to humans. We presume to speak for the unspeakable. But, we are part of the process of nature looking at nature. We can’t speak out of it, so the true unknowns remain unknown. Our commanding is only obeying. It’s nature exposed to our method of questioning. A metaphor is only possible if the two things are not the same thing. Language is a metaphor, your talk of the deer is not the deer. Historians don’t see themselves as people in history, but looking back at past objectively as if outside history. Explanations settle issues, narratives show things end not as they must but as they did. Large beliefs require conversion not explanation. Augustus one of the most famous converts was surprised about how he could believe so many falsehoods, but really should be surprised there are so many truths. Knowledge is fact that can’t be challenged and like property that must showcased and respected. Imposed silence is the privileged the grandest prize to titles. Title speak for, not with someone. Losers have no audience. Infinite speech bears no claim to truth and is not about anything. Metaphor draws us to what can’t be there. Finite language exists completed beforehand, infinite language exists only as it is spoken. Must wait to see what proper interpret before he can know what he said. About attentive listeners. Storytelling can’t succeed or fail, does not end but we are touched and look to the horizon. Stories don’t really end, if we knew the entire story it would be an explanation. No culture can be known, but only learned.
Chapter 6 we control nature for societal reasons
Prediction is most highly developed skill of the master player allowing control of the opponent. Nuclear bomb wasn’t for power over nature, but each other. Difference between machine and nature is that nature has the spontaneity emerge from within itself. Machine d depends on its designer. Nothing we do is unnatural, even herbicide or condoms. Chaos or order of nature is fact about us rather than nature. The more power we have over Nature, the more powerless we become. Can tear down first, but not put it back. To use a machine is to become a machine. Goal of technology is to eliminate itself, we buy means of travel not a car. A perfect car we’ll be invisible and allow travel. Hide our inaction and travel without traveling or affecting cities or people we pass through unaffected by world. Best communication brings it into the home not changing the home. Best weapons affect others without hurting ourselves. We operate each other like machines, and best operation of machines is to reach outcome desired in such a way that nothing happens. Killers are winners without a game or competitors. All culture is encouragement of sponateioty like gardening. Animal husbrandy is machine that does not ripen. But gardening is not about an end, a successful harvest and about variety and styles. So for culture.
To travel is to grow. Only true voyage is not to see 100 lands with the same pair of eyes but to see the same land with 100 different eyes.
We don’t consume nature as we are in nature, instead we transform it into what we deem waste that humanity can’t use. Human waste is people no longer useful to society. Not byproduct of society but direct result only waste in that society.
Knowledge is successful explanations, started as stories. Myth told for its own sake. Stories can’t be observed like infinite game can’t have an audience. Stories once told you inhabit it and don’t interpret story through your experience but your experience in terms of the story. Freud offers stories to tell your fight against ego. “When we look into a story to find its meaning, it is always a meaning we have brought with us to look at”. Stories resonate with us, a therapist analysising through Freud must see that it doesn’t predict what happens but resonates between them to create their own story. Difference between speaking as Jeremiah and having it touch you. Myths that resonate so it hard cease your have an auhh Th or. Highest form of listening.
Opposite of repsnqgionce is amplification. Silences the rest. Loudspeaker is listened to not because we want but because you can’t hear anything else. We try to silence stories with explanations as if they don’t matter. Some myths we can’t forget we have forgetter, the metaphysical meaning allude us.
The myth of Jesus is exemplary, but not necessary. All such titles are playful performances for sake of laughter. Infinite players are not serious, joyful poets of story that they can’t finish.
There is one infinite game
“Distance is not determined by the measurable length between objects, but by the actual differences between them. The motels around the airports in Chicago and Atlanta are so little different from the motels around the airports of Tokyo and Frankfurt that all essential distances dissolve in likeness. What is truly separated is distinct; it is unlike. "The only true voyage would be not to travel through a hundred different lands with the same pair of eyes, but to see the same land through a hundred different pairs of eyes"