Page:Mind (New Series) Volume 15.djvu/204

190 w. H. WINCH: PSYCHOLOGY AND PHILOSOPHY OF PLAY;. A source of difficulty in this subject of play and spon- taneous advance has arisen from our habit of considering man philosophically as one and indivisible. The evolution of men would in some ways be a safer title than the evolu- tion of man. Noting the spontaneous advance of genius, and the disinterested motives, as we call them, which pro- duce much of the world's best work, it has been too hastily assumed that we may trust to this over the whole field of labour. True enough we find spontaneity everywhere, play- ful and otherwise, but most of it is not like that of the genius,, in front of, but behind, the times. The problem for us, setting aside the optimistic exaggera- tion of " preparation " theories, and remembering the plasticity and latitude which modern ' recapitulation ' theories permit,, is to use ' play ' as a relief from work without descending into barbarism in the process ; to use ' play ' as a means of main- taining the physical strength to which modern life conditions are so inimical ; to use ' play ' as suggestive of mental de- velopment, so that we may find the easiest lines of approach for adult work and thought ; and to supersede the play which too markedly exhibits primitive action, primitive beliefs,, primitive ethics.