The Word-Game

The Duelist demands Satisfaction,

Honour, for him 

is an appetite —

This Story is about an 

eccentric kind of Hunger.

It is a True Story, and 

begins in The Year that 

Napoleon Bonapartebecame 

Ruler of France…. 1800

There are at least Two Kinds of Games : Finite and Infinite. 

A Finite Game is played for The Purpose of Winning, 

An Infinite Game for The Purpose of continuing The Play. 

The Play’s The Thing.

Finite Games are those instrumental activities - 

from sports to politics to wars - 

in which The Participants obey rules, 

recognise boundaries and announce 

Winners and Losers. 

The Infinite Game - there is only one - includes 

any authentic interaction, from 

Touching to Culture, that changes rules, 

plays with boundaries and exists solely 

for The Purpose of continuing The Game. 

A finite Player seeks Power; 

The Infinite Player displays 

self-sufficient Strength. 

Finite Games are Theatrical, 

necessitating An Audience; 

Infinite Games are Dramatic, 

involving participants..."

Theatrical vs. Dramatic

Carse continues these conceptualisations 

across all major spheres of human affairs. 

He extends his themes broadly over 

several intellectual arenas that are largely 

otherwise disparate disciplines. 

He describes Human Pursuits as either 

Dramatic (enacted in The Present) or 

Theatrical (performed according to A Script of some kind). 

This distinction hinges on An Agent's decision 

to engage in one state of affairs or another. 

If Motherhood is A Requirement and A Duty, 

there are rules to be obeyed and goals to be achieved. 

This is Motherhood as Theatrical-role. 

If Motherhood is A Choice and A Process, 

it becomes A Living Drama.

Carse spans objective and subjective realms 

and bridges many gaps among different 

scholarly traditions.