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The Crisis of Labor and Political Ecology of Play

  • 탈경계인문학Trans-Humanities
  • 2023, 16(2), pp.7-28
  • DOI : 10.22901/trans.2023.16.2.7
  • Publisher : Ewha Institute for the Humanities: EIH
  • Research Area : Humanities > Other Humanities
  • Received : August 12, 2023
  • Accepted : October 18, 2023
  • Published : October 30, 2023

Chan-Woong Lee 1

1이화여자대학교

Accredited

ABSTRACT

As many have pointed out, today humanity is experiencing a 'crisis of labor' due to factors such as artificial intelligence and the climate crisis. In fact, historically speaking, the idea that labor defines human essence was not universal; it emerged during a specific period in the mid-19th century. Since that time, labor has been understood as human self-realization through the transformation of nature. On the other hand, when referring to significant studies on play, it is not merely a supplementary activity opposed to labor, but an essential and subconscious force that has generated various dimensions of human civilization. Play revolves around respecting mutually rules among individuals and is found across the spectrum from animals to humans. This article, from the perspectives of Bruno Latour's political ecology, Schiller's play impulse, and Hannah Arendt's critique of labor addiction, aims to propositionally suggest that the relationship between humans and the Earth, viewed through the lens of play, should become an alternative principle for future society.

Citation status

* References for papers published after 2023 are currently being built.

This paper was written with support from the National Research Foundation of Korea.