Plato's War on Play.

PLAY (Philosophy); PHILOSOPHY of education; PLATO, 428-347 B.C.; COMPETITION (Psychology); ROUSSEAU, Jean-Jacques, 1712-1778; DEWEY, John, 1859-1952; HISTORY of education; PLAY

The article discusses the application of philosopher Plato's thought on the importance of play to educational methods, arguing that Plato's thought on play is often misapplied. The author discusses the history of thought on the educational benefit of certain types of play, including discussions of thinkers such as Jean-Jacque Rousseau, John Dewey, and Jean Piaget, and he considers the view that competitive and make-believe play is not beneficial.