“Therefore, poets do not 'fit' into society, not because a place is denied them but because they do not take their 'places' seriously. They openly see its roles as theatrical, its styles as poses, its clothing costumes, its rules conventional,… — James P. Carse Copy Share Image
“The issue here is not whether self-veiling can be avoided, or even should be avoided. Indeed, no finite play is possible without it. The… — James P. Carse Copy Share Image
“No one can play a game alone. One cannot be human by oneself. There is no selfhood where there is no community. We do not relate to others as the persons we are; we are who we are in relating to others. Simultaneously the others with whom we are in relation are themselves in relation. We cannot relate to anyone… — James P. Carse Copy Share
A finite game is played for the purpose of winning, an infinite game for the purpose of continuing the play. — James P. Carse Copy Share Image
“Immortality is therefore the supreme example of the contradictoriness of finite play: It is a life one cannot live.” — James P. Carse Copy Share Image
“Evil is never intended as evil. Indeed, the contradiction inherent in all evil is that it originates in the desire to eliminate evil. “The only good Indian is a dead Indian.” Evil arises in the honored belief that history can be tidied up, brought to a sensible conclusion. It is evil to act as though the past is bringing us… — James P. Carse Copy Share
“To be prepared against surprise is to be trained. To be prepared for surprise is to be educated. Education discovers an increasing richness in the past, because it sees what is unfinished there. Training regards the past as finished and the future as to be finished. Education leads toward a continuing self-discovery; training leads toward a final self-definition. Training repeats… — James P. Carse Copy Share
“It is a highly valued function of society to prevent changes in the rules of the many games it embraces... Deviancy, however, is the very essence of culture. Whoever merely follows the script, merely repeating the past, is culturally impoverished. There are variations in the quality of deviation; not all divergence from the past is culturally significant. Any attempt to… — James P. Carse Copy Share
“...religion ceases to be religion when its poetic authority is recast as civic authority.” — James P. Carse Copy Share Image
“Although it may be evident enough in theory that whoever plays a finite game plays freely, it is often the case that finite players… — James P. Carse Copy Share Image
“We are playful when we engage others at the level of choice, when there is no telling in advance where our relationship with them… — James P. Carse Copy Share Image
“Surprise in finite play is the triumph of the past over the future. The Master Player who already knows what moves are to be… — James P. Carse Copy Share Image
“Titles are public. They are for others to notice. I expect others to address me according to my titles, but I do not address… — James P. Carse Copy Share Image
