Aha! So that\u2019s what I\u2019m really about! I must confess, though, that this term is just a fancy way of saying \u201chaving fun.\u201d Maybe in some circumstances we need to pretend to be a bit snooty to appease the demand for functionality, for higher purpose. But really, we don\u2019t need an excuse. <\/p>\n
If you think about it, much of the cosmos, much of life, happens because it\u2019s innately pleasurable to do so. My favorite philosopher Alfred North Whitehead described the meaning of life: \u201cTo live, to live well, to live better.\u201d There\u2019s that value gradient—better! But often better just includes savoring the moment!<\/p>\n
As for evolving, well, it\u2019s more fun for us to be a together than for me to do it alone. So organisms combine into ever-increasingly complex structures, from one cell to many, and then many billions or trillions of cells. Dancing and singing together combines a bit of communion with activity.<\/p>\n
I\u2019ve been working at revising my Art of Play book, explaining why it\u2019s okay to have fun. Our culture is unfortunately somewhat stifled by a fairly strong unconscious residue of Puritanism (i.e., \u201cIf it\u2019s fun it can\u2019t be good.\u201d), and it takes some consistent discipline to re-train the mind to think in a more positive way.<\/p>\n
Recognizing this need is part of the value of the emergence of a sub-field called Positive Psychology, which I think is a developed extension of Humanistic Psychology. Humanistic Psychology in turn arose to counter Behaviorism and Psychoanalysis, rat psychology and messed-up-baby psychology, and it explores what only more adult humans can do that cannot be achieved by either babies or rats\u2014 things like creativity, nurturance, intelligent analysis, etc.<\/p>\n