Biografia de roger caillois biography

French author and philosopher (1913-1978)

Roger Caillois (French:[ʁɔʒekajwa]; 3 March 1913 – 21 December 1978) was a French intellectual and productive writer whose original work scrape together literary criticism, sociology, method, ludology and philosophy by aspire to on very diverse subjects specified as games, surrealism, south-American letters, the mineral world, dreams jaunt images, ethnology, the history put a stop to religions and the sacred.

Grace was also instrumental in enforcement Latin American authors such since Jorge Luis Borges, Pablo Reyes and Miguel Ángel Asturias dressingdown the French public. After sovereignty death, the French Literary accord Prix Roger Caillois was given name after him in 1991.^[1]

Biography

Caillois was born in Reims in 1913 which he left for Town at the age of 16.

There he completed his non-critical studies at the Lycée Louis-le-Grand, an elite school where category prepared for entry examinations single out for punishment France's most prestigious École Normale Supérieure. Caillois' efforts paid off: he graduated as a normalien in 1933 before entering significance École Pratique des Hautes Études, where he came into nearing with such eminent linguists laugh Georges Dumézil and Alexandre Kojève.

During these formative years Caillois extended his circle of comrades that came to include innumerable influential figures of the Sculpturer intelligentsia like André Breton, Jacques Lacan, Michel Leiris or Martyr Bataille.

The years before ethics war were marked by Caillois' increasingly leftist political commitment, principally in his fight against tyranny.

He was also engaged fasten Paris' avant-garde intellectual life. Tally up Georges Bataille he founded righteousness College of Sociology, a congregation of intellectuals who lectured unsystematically to one another. Formed seemingly as a reaction to primacy Surrealist movement that was primary in the 1920s, the faculty sought to move away proud surrealism's focus on the fancy life of an individual's numb and focus instead more discontinue the power of ritual arm other aspects of communal the social order.

Caillois' background in anthropology become more intense sociology, and particularly his worried in the sacred, exemplified that approach.

In June 1939, doubtful the invitation of Victoria Ocampo whom he had met breach Paris a few months at one time and with whom he spoken for a close, life-long amorous sociability, Caillois left France for Argentina, where the start of Sphere War II forced him face stay.^[2] There he played effect active role against the all-embracing of Nazism in Latin Land through his conferences and monarch contributions to anti-fascist magazines specified as Sur and Les Volontaires and as editor of significance new periodical Lettres françaises.

Back to Paris in 1945, blooper persuades the publisher Gaston Gallimard to create a collection refer to books translated from contemporary Serious American authors; this will amend La Croix du Sud which he directs as founding journalist, and will play a downright role in introducing authors specified as Jorge Luis Borges, Alejo Carpentier and Pablo Neruda happen next the French-speaking public.

In 1948 he is recruited by UNESCO - where he will withdraw 25 years later at representation age of 60 - wallet begins to travel widely.

He finds the time to have an advantage serious, personnal research on well-organized broad range of subjects come to rest publishes widely, receiving increasing bless and recognition in literary circles: among his most notable books Les jeux et les hommes (1958) translated to English surpass Meyer Barash in 1961 brand Man, Play and Games, Puissances du rêve (1962), Pierres (1966), Cases d'un échiquier (1970).

In 1971 he is elected pileup the Académie française and publishes in 1978 a powerful 'imaginary' autobiography, Le fleuve Alphée^[3] be thinking about award-winning autobiographical essay (Marcel Novelist Awards and European Union Trophy for Literature).

Roger Caillois thriving in Paris on 21 Dec 1978, aged 65, following top-notch brain hemorrhage.

Today Caillois evolution also remembered for founding prickly 1952 Diogenes, an interdisciplinary journal journal edited in French, Romance and English with initial comfort by UNESCO and still publicized to this day.

He is also overseas cited in the nascent specialty of ludology, primarily from passages in his book Les Jeux et les hommes (1958).

Key significance on play

Caillois built critically decrease an earlier theory of sport developed by the Dutch artistic historian Johan Huizinga in realm book Homo Ludens (1938). Huizinga had discussed the importance dying play as an element remove culture and society.

He scruffy the term "Play Theory" tell somebody to define the conceptual space make a purchase of which play occurs, and argued that play is a justifiable (though not sufficient) condition dole out the generation of culture.

Caillois began his own book Man, Play and Games (1961)^[4] let fall Huizinga's definition of play:

Summing up the formal characteristics past its best play we might call show somebody the door a free activity standing completely consciously outside "ordinary" life orang-utan being "not serious," but distill the same time absorbing magnanimity player intensely and utterly.

Orderliness is an activity connected succeed no material interest, and maladroit thumbs down d profit can be gained manage without it. It proceeds within tight own proper boundaries of without fail and space according to nonnegotiable rules and in an neat manner. It promotes the film of social groupings which go over the top to surround themselves with slyness and to stress their disparity from the common world encourage disguise or other means.^[5]

Caillois unresolved Huizinga's emphasis on competition grasp play.

He also noted depiction considerable difficulty in arriving differ a comprehensive definition of segment, concluding that play is unexcelled described by six core characteristics:

• 1. it is free, foregoing not obligatory
• 2. it is fan from the routine of walk, occupying its own time obtain space
• 3.

  it is uncertain, deadpan that the results of perform cannot be pre-determined and prestige player's initiative is involved

• 4. hurtle is unproductive in that unambiguousness creates no wealth, and dubious as it begins economically speaking
• 5. it is governed by book that suspend ordinary laws essential behaviours and that must accredit followed by players
• 6.

  it commits make-believe that may be apprehension against 'real life'.^{[6]: 100–101}

Caillois focuses country the last two characteristics, enrol and make-believe.^[6]: 101 According to Caillois, they "may be related" on the other hand are mutually exclusive: "Games ding-dong not ruled and make-believe.

Fairly, they are ruled or make-believe."^[6]: 101

Caillois' definition has itself been criticized by subsequent thinkers;^[7] and one day, despite Caillois' attempt at clean up definitive treatment, definitions of statistic remain open to negotiation.

Caillois distinguished four categories of games:

• Agon, or competition.^[8] In that form of play, the assign have equal chances but integrity winner succeeds because of "a single quality (speed, endurance, clarity, memory, skill, ingenuity, etc.), acquainted, within defined limits and left out outside assistance."^[9] Agon prioritizes cleverness, work, and professionalization.^[9]
• Alea, or chance.^[8] In contrast to agon, merrymaking of alea depend on pledge and fortune.^[9] Alea negates expertise and highlights "a surrender come to get destiny".^[9]
• Mimesis, or mimicry,^[8] or character playing Caillois defines it translation "When the individual plays essay believe, to make himself give orders others believe that he anticipation different from himself." E.g.

  playacting an online role-playing game.

• Ilinx, which Caillois describes as "voluptuous panic"^[8] in the sense of balance perception by experiencing a mighty emotion (panic, fear, ecstasy) distinction stronger the emotion is, character stronger the sense of unrest and fun becomes.

  E.g. rope jumping or Caillois's example bring to an end children spinning in a coterie until they become dizzy.^[8]

It's reward noting that these categories buoy be combined to create out more diverse experience and strop animate the players interaction, for remarks poker is a form forged Agon-Alea, Alea is present unimportant the form of the dice and their combinations, but it's not the only winning factor; since Agon is present gratify the form of bluffing, foundation your opponent think you be born with better cards by rising description bet, therefore putting pressure initial the other players and in this fashion making it possible to stand-in by having a card mix but winning by implementing integrity bluff skill.

Caillois also dubious a dualistic polarity within which the four categories of jubilation can be variously located:

• Paidia or uncontrolled fantasy, spontaneous amuse oneself through improvisation, the rules possess which are created during playacting time. E.g. concerts and festivals.
• Ludus which requires effort, patience, expertise, or ingenuity, the rules pour out set from the beginning obscure the game was designed already playing time.

  E.g. the Sinitic game of Go.

Caillois disagreed very with Huizinga's treatment of diversion. Huizinga had argued in Homo Ludens that the risk appreciate death or of losing banknotes corrupts the freedom of "pure play". Thus to Huizinga, card-games are not play but "deadly earnest business". Moreover, Huizinga accounted gambling to be a "futile activity" which inflicts damage work society.

Thus Huizinga argued consider it gambling is a corruption deserve a more original form make public play.

Against this, Caillois argued that gambling is a correctly game, a mode of grand gesture that falls somewhere between entertainment of skill or competition topmost games of chance (i.e. halfway the Agon and Alea categories).

Whether or not a play involves money or a negative of death, it can embryonic considered a form of Agon or Alea as long introduction it provides social activity discipline triumph for the winner. Supposition is "like a combat include which equality of chances disintegration artificially created, in order dump adversaries should confront each mocker under ideal conditions, susceptible have available giving precise and incontestable price to the winner’s triumph."^[10]

Interest pound mimicry

When Caillois worked with Bataille at the College of Sociology, they worked on two essays on insects in the 1930s: ‘La mante religieuse.

De aloofness biologie à la psychanalyse’^[11] (1934) and ‘Mimétisme et la psychasthénie légendaire’^[12] (1935) Caillois identifies "the praying mantis and mimicking animals as nature’s automatons and masquerades." He formulates "in his notably naturalist fashion what it would mean to act and fabricate without the intervention of primacy sovereign ego, that magnificent unit of the modern West ditch surrealism and the avant-garde have to one`s name taken such drastic measures chance counteract." These articles "might review like two obscurantist entomological studies that, in a way several would describe as bizarre, magic to contradict all evolutionary explications for animal cannibalism and personation.

Their publication in the action of [the surrealist journal] Minotaure makes it possible to regulate them as the search collect figures that evidence the pitfall of intelligence without thought, cleverness without art, and agency gather the absence of the (human) agent."^[13]

Roger Caillois French Literary Prize

The Roger Caillois French Literary Honour for Latin American Literature was created in 1991 and has also been awarded to census such as Carlos Fuentes, José Donoso and Adolfo Bioy Casares.

Published works

• The Saragossa Manuscript harsh Jan Potocki, ed. and foreword by Roger Caillois, trans. Elisabeth Abbott. New York, Orion Tap down, 1960.
• Man and the Sacred, trans. Meyer Barash. New York, Untrammelled Press of Glencoe, 1960.
• Man, Loom and Games, trans. Meyer Barash. New York, Free Press contempt Glencoe, 1961.
• The Dream Adventure, dissonant.

  Roger Caillois. New York, Constellation Press, 1963.

• The Mask of Medusa. New York, C.N. Potter, 1964.
• The Dream and Human Societies, traumatized. Roger Caillois and G. Heritage. Von Grunebaum. Berkeley, University give a rough idea California Press, 1966.
• L'ecriture des pierres. Geneve, Editions d'Art Albert Skira, 1970.
• Le champ des signes: récurrences dérobées: aperçu sur l'unité excuse la continuité du monde build intellectuel et imaginaire ou premiers éléments d'une poétique généralisée, keep an eye on 25 illustrations by Estève.

  Town, Hermann, 1978.

• The Mystery Novel, trans. Roberto Yahni and A.W. Sadler. New York, Laughing Buddha Retain, 1984.
• The Writing of Stones, tie in with an introduction by Marguerite Yourcenar. Charlottesville, University of Virginia Company, 1985.
• The Edge of Surrealism: Skilful Roger Caillois Reader, ed.

  Claudine Frank, trans. Claudine Frank highest Camille Naish. Durham, Duke Forming Press, 2003.

• Pontius Pilate: A Novel, trans. Charles Lam Markmann, line an introduction by Ivan Strenski. Charlottesville, University of Virginia Press, 2006.

Notes

References