« Fonder une sociologie à partir des jeux ». Pertinence du projet de Roger Caillois aujourd’hui

Abstract

Roger Caillois' scientific project in 1958 was not only to undertake a sociology of games, but “to lay the foundations for a sociology derived from games”. What would he say today about the forms of games and play that have appeared since then? Does the typology he proposed remain relevant? And what about the links he established between types of games and types of societies? This reflection article uses Caillois as a reader and analyst of the ludic phenomenon of recent decades. The authors wonder, among other things, whether the greater representation today of certain categories of games, such as simulation games, implies transformations in society. In order to explore these questions, Caillois' categories of games are first briefly recalled and, secondly, focus is given on the category of mimicry, in order to place it in parallel with different contemporary manifestations of play. The observed developments confirm Caillois’ idea that forms of games say “something” about society.

Keywords

• Roger Caillois
• typology of games
• agôn
• alea
• ilinx
• mimicry