Juegos y juguetes libres. La filosofía y obsesión de Walter Benjamin

Abstract

Games and toys must be treated from different points of view if we want to get a global idea of their importance. For all this, it’s necessary to analyze different characters that have treated the different playful themes, whether from the sociological, anthropological, cultural, sports, philosophical, poetic field... The proposal is framed in the philosophical, historical and personal treatment that Walter Benjamin did related to this theme. The object of study is this appearance of the game and the toy in the thinking of the German philosopher, whether from his travels, as from his interpretations, which often criticize the society of the time. Methodology used has been based on the analysis of its main texts. These primary sources are reinforced by a set of contributions that contextualize Benjamin’s speech. Results allow us to verify the importance that Benjamin gave to these elements -game and toy- and their evolution. A set of actions are proposed that bring back the original meaning of the action of playing and detach from the scourge of consumerism. The thought of the German philosopher can therefore become a foothold, of recovering historical memory and in favor of an education of the game, of the toy – and of course, of sport – critical and real.