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Through the jocular voice of Aesop's Grasshopper, a shiftless but thoughtful practitioner of applied entomology, Suits not only argues that games can be meaningfully defined; he also suggests that playing games is a central part of the ideal of human existence, and so games belong at the heart of any vision of Utopia. \u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e This new edition of \u003cem\u003eThe Grasshopper\u003c\/em\u003e includes illustrations from Frank Newfeld created for the book's original publication, as well as an introduction by Thomas Hurka and a new appendix on the meaning of 'play.' \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ GARDNERS","offer_id":49733756682513,"sku":"NGR9781554812158","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ VERY_GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50782986895633,"sku":"CIN1554812151VG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50979475751185,"sku":"CIN1554812151G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":51037064429841,"sku":"NIN9781554812158","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":51516736831761,"sku":"GOR008378326","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":53042161582353,"sku":"GOR014711081","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ WELL_READ \/ SBYB","offer_id":53250318237969,"sku":"CIN1554812151A","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1554812151.jpg?v=1751118955"},{"product_id":"return-of-the-grasshopper-book-bernard-suits-9781032201368","title":"Return of the Grasshopper","description":"In this sequel to Bernard Suits’ timeless classic philosophical work The Grasshopper: Games, Life and Utopia, published in its full and unabridged form for the first time, Suits continues to explore some of our most fundamental philosophical questions, including the value of sport and games, and their relationship to the good life.  In Return of the Grasshopper, Suits puts his theoretical cards on the table, exploring the in-depth implications of his definition of utopia, assessing the merits of a gamified philosophy, and explaining how games can provide an existential balm against the fear of death. Perhaps most importantly, for the first time in print, Suits reveals his underlying worldview: that humanity is forever fated to endure a cyclical existence of privation, brought on by material scarcity, and boredom, resulting from material plenitude. An essential companion to The Grasshopper, this edition includes an introductory chapter that puts Suits’ life and work into context, helping the reader to understand why Suits has had such a profound influence on contemporary philosophy and how his ideas still provide powerful insight into the human condition.  This book is important reading for anybody with an interest in the philosophy of sport, leisure and play, political philosophy, ethics, existentialism or utopian studies.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ GARDNERS","offer_id":50727719436561,"sku":"NGR9781032201368","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":51017778168081,"sku":"NIN9781032201368","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":52591439479057,"sku":"NLS9781032201368","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1032201363.jpg?v=1750708688"},{"product_id":"grasshopper-book-bernard-suits-9780802023018","title":"The Grasshopper","description":"\u003cp\u003e In the mid twentieth century the philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein famously asserted that games are indefinable; there are no common threads that link them all. Nonsense, said the sensible Bernard Suits: playing a game is a voluntary attempt to overcome unnecessary obstacles. The short book Suits wrote demonstrating precisely that is as playful as it is insightful, as stimulating as it is delightful. Through the jocular voice of Aesop's Grasshopper, a shiftless but thoughtful practitioner of applied entomology, Suits not only argues that games can be meaningfully defined; he also suggests that playing games is a central part of the ideal of human existence, and so games belong at the heart of any vision of Utopia. \u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e This new edition of \u003cem\u003eThe Grasshopper\u003c\/em\u003e includes illustrations from Frank Newfeld created for the book's original publication, as well as an introduction by Thomas Hurka and a new appendix on the meaning of 'play.' \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"- \/ - \/ -","offer_id":50784777568529,"sku":"","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":50784777699601,"sku":"GOR008963080","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":51915934007569,"sku":"GOR007434127","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0802023010.jpg?v=1751138746"},{"product_id":"grasshopper-book-bernard-suits-9780802067449","title":"The Grasshopper","description":"Aesop’s improvidnt Grasshopper is the protagonist of this delightful tour-de-force, a playful yet thoroughly serious philosophical dialogue in which he develops, Socratically, a utopian world-view: that life is, ideally, to be thought of as consisting of games, and that the good life should be concerned with play, not work. In arriving at his conclusions, the Grasshopper takes the reader on a mischievous but disciplined romp through the moral philosophy of gaming, including considerations of espionage, make-believe, “zero-sum” strategy, cheating, lovemaking, competition, horseplay, mountain climbing, professionalism, riddles, seduction, and much, much more. Wittily illustrated by Frank Newfeld, THE GRASSHOPPER is itself the kind of game of which it treats: a spirited and challenging intellectual adventure that is also, quite simply, good fun.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"- \/ - \/ -","offer_id":51007183356177,"sku":"","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":51007186469137,"sku":"NIN9780802067449","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":51833761464593,"sku":"GOR014418085","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ LIKE_NEW \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":52891248230673,"sku":"GOR014653863","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0802067441.jpg?v=1751201685"},{"product_id":"return-of-the-grasshopper-book-bernard-suits-9781032201375","title":"Return of the Grasshopper","description":"In this sequel to Bernard Suits’ timeless classic philosophical work The Grasshopper: Games, Life and Utopia, published in its full and unabridged form for the first time, Suits continues to explore some of our most fundamental philosophical questions, including the value of sport and games, and their relationship to the good life.  In Return of the Grasshopper, Suits puts his theoretical cards on the table, exploring the in-depth implications of his definition of utopia, assessing the merits of a gamified philosophy, and explaining how games can provide an existential balm against the fear of death. Perhaps most importantly, for the first time in print, Suits reveals his underlying worldview: that humanity is forever fated to endure a cyclical existence of privation, brought on by material scarcity, and boredom, resulting from material plenitude. An essential companion to The Grasshopper, this edition includes an introductory chapter that puts Suits’ life and work into context, helping the reader to understand why Suits has had such a profound influence on contemporary philosophy and how his ideas still provide powerful insight into the human condition.  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Nonsense, said the sensible Bernard Suits: playing a game is a voluntary attempt to overcome unnecessary obstacles. The short book Suits wrote demonstrating precisely that is as playful as it is insightful, as stimulating as it is delightful. Through the jocular voice of Aesop's Grasshopper, a shiftless but thoughtful practitioner of applied entomology, Suits not only argues that games can be meaningfully defined; he also suggests that playing games is a central part of the ideal of human existence, and so games belong at the heart of any vision of Utopia. \u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e This new edition of \u003cem\u003eThe Grasshopper\u003c\/em\u003e includes illustrations from Frank Newfeld created for the book's original publication, as well as an introduction by Thomas Hurka and a new appendix on the meaning of 'play.' \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"- \/ - \/ -","offer_id":51424430883089,"sku":"","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":51424431735057,"sku":"CIN155111772XG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/155111772X.jpg?v=1750894526"},{"product_id":"grasshopper-book-bernard-suits-9780879238407","title":"Grasshopper","description":"\u003cp\u003e In the mid twentieth century the philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein famously asserted that games are indefinable; there are no common threads that link them all. 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