The semantics of fun: differenciating enjoyable experiences

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clipped from www.johanna-webprojekte.de Typical of a relatively new area of investigation is the lack of an agreed set of terms: enjoyment, pleasure, fun and attraction are often used interchangeably. But do they really refer to the same experiences? None of these terms are reducible to single definitions but for the purposes of this chapter we will propose a difference between pleasure and fun in an attempt to delineate distinct forms of enjoyment. The chapter begins with a consideration of the psychological account of peak experiences and how this might relates to less intense activities. After exploring the semantic and cultural connotations of the word fun the chapter goes on to consider the historical and political construction of leisure in the West. The final sections outlines distinctions between “fun” and "pleasure". It is argued that pleasure is closely related to degrees of absorption while fun can be usefully thought of in terms of distraction.