Editors

D. Schwartz (Ed.)

Document Type

Occasional Paper

Publication Date

1-2012

Publication Title

Center for Gaming Research Occasional Paper Series: Paper 13

Publisher Location

Las Vegas, Nevada

First page number:

1

Last page number:

20

Abstract

This paper develops a philosophy of play through an analysis of the foot wager of the Sphinx. Applying a construction of the cosmology of Plato along with a Socratic etymology of her riddle’s answer, it provides a reading of Sphingian contestation consistent with contemporary practices of deception found in modern games like poker. I argue that such deception is constitutive of the excessive illumination of signaling tells in games and that such excess, in turn, is indicative in allied political contexts of a covetous and acquisitive obsession with light. This theory makes use also of Ralph Ellison’s refiguring of Oedipal play as a theory of tyranny and serves as a riposte to the psychoanalytic idea of the Oedipus complex.

Keywords

Deception; Gambling; Oedipus; Philosophy of playtells; Riddles; Sphinx; True names

Disciplines

Arts and Humanities | Classics | Gaming and Casino Operations Management | Social Psychology and Interaction

File Format

pdf

Language

English

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