The Philosophy of Play is, yes a philosophical discipline: we are building it

Abstract

The philosophy of play is currently experiencing a significant moment in Mexico and Latin America that allows it to be considered, with solid justification, as a philosophical discipline. This recognition opens new academic pathways and lines of research focused on play and the existential experience of playing, while also broadening the professional horizon of philosophy as a field of knowledge and intellectual practice. Play is understood as an essential human activity, not only because of the existential situations it generates, but also because of the ontological possibilities it offers for understanding being and human experience. Based on sustained work carried out over several years—reflected in research projects, presentations at international conferences, and various publications—it is argued that there are solid conditions to call upon the academic community devoted to the philosophy of play and the philosophy of sport in Mexico to recognize them as philosophical disciplines in a full sense. The philosophy of sport, in fact, has held such recognition in other contexts for decades. Within this framework, the text presents arguments supporting this proposal, emphasizing that playing, experiencing games, and engaging in sport refer to fundamental, meaningful, and structuring activities of human experience. As philosophical disciplines, the philosophy of play and the philosophy of sport not only expand research possibilities, but also represent an area of opportunity for philosophical education by offering a broad and diverse range of objects of study.