Play as Symbol of the World (E. Fink)

Play as symbol of the World, the magnum opus of Eugen Fink, is finally available in English decades after it was first published in German. The book is a compilation including the Play as Symbol of the World, as well as additional texts and notes by Fink on the subject.

In his thinking, Fink -whose philosophy had grown in close collaboration with Husserl and Heidegger- brings, on top of the great legacy of the two giants of phenomenology, his peculiar approach to play from the standpoint of the relation of being with the world.

The article you will find below, Oasis of Happiness is the opening text of the book. It is also considered a condensed sketch of Play as Symbol of the World, preceding and anticipating the main arguments therein. We hope that it will be a great introduction to Fink's philosophy of play, and an intriguing invitation to the book for those who are interested in philosophy and play alike, and are still to meet the work of this great thinker.

Further reading 

• Book review by Stuart Elden, pdf copy available below
• Another piece by Fink, which is also included in the book: Play and Philosophy
• Fink was influential over many European philosophers to follow him. A preeminent example is the French/Greek thinker Kostas Axelos and his concept of Le Jeu du Monde.  You can find a very interesting related article  (actually two versions of it) by Axelos in articles.