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    Material Self

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    Ivan Dennis Salupan
    William James described the material self as having four main constituents: the body, clothes, immediate family, and home. According to James, people invest much of their sense of self into their body by taking care of it and insuring body parts. Clothes are also an important part of self-expression and identity. One's immediate family, especially parents and siblings, are another big part of how people see themselves. Finally, the home is where early experiences shape selfhood and people feel an extension of self through possessions in the home.

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    Material Self

    Uploaded by

    Ivan Dennis Salupan
    67 views1 page
    William James described the material self as having four main constituents: the body, clothes, immediate family, and home. According to James, people invest much of their sense of self into their body by taking care of it and insuring body parts. Clothes are also an important part of self-expression and identity. One's immediate family, especially parents and siblings, are another big part of how people see themselves. Finally, the home is where early experiences shape selfhood and people feel an extension of self through possessions in the home.

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    MATERIAL-SELF

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    William James described the material self as having four main constituents: the body, clothes, immediate family, and home. According to James, people invest much of their sense of self into their body by taking care of it and insuring body parts. Clothes are also an important part of self-expression and identity. One's immediate family, especially parents and siblings, are another big part of how people see themselves. Finally, the home is where early experiences shape selfhood and people feel an extension of self through possessions in the home.

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    67 views1 page

    Material Self

    Uploaded by

    Ivan Dennis Salupan
    William James described the material self as having four main constituents: the body, clothes, immediate family, and home. According to James, people invest much of their sense of self into their body by taking care of it and insuring body parts. Clothes are also an important part of self-expression and identity. One's immediate family, especially parents and siblings, are another big part of how people see themselves. Finally, the home is where early experiences shape selfhood and people feel an extension of self through possessions in the home.

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    MATERIAL SELF

    William James
    -Harvard Psychologist in the late 19th Century
    -Wrote in his book , The principles of Psychology in 1890, that understanding the self can be examined through its
    different components.
    He described these components as:
    1.Constituents -Contituents- composed of material self, social self, spiritual self and the pure ego.
    2. The feelings and emotions they arouse– self feelings
    3.The actions to which they prompt- self-seeking and self-preservatiion
    According to James it is primarily about our bodies, clothes, immediate family and home.
    We are deeply affected by these things because we put much investment of our self to them.

    BODY
    • The innermost part of our self is our body.
    • Intentionally, we are investing in our body. We are directly attached to this commodity that we cannot live
    without.
    • We strive hard that this body functions well and good. Any ailment or disorder directly affects us.
    • We do have certain preferential attachment or intimate closeness to certain body parts because of its value to
    us.
    • There were people who get their body parts insured. Celebrities like Mariah Carey who was reported to have
    placed a huge amount for the insurance of her vocal cords and legs (Sukman 2016)
    CLOTHES
     The fabric and style of the clothes we wear bring sensations to the body to which directly affect our attitudes
    and behavior. Thus, clothes are placed in the second hierarchy of material self.
     Clothing is form of self expression.
     We choose and wear clothes that reflect our self ( Watson 2014 )
    FAMILY
    • Third in the hierarchy is our immediate family.
    • Our parents and siblings hold another great important part of our self. What they do or become affects us.
    • When an immediate family member dies, part of our self dies, too.
    • When their lives are in success, we feel victories as if we are the one holding the trophy.
    • In their failures, we are put to shame and guilt.
    • The fourth component of material self.
    • Home is where our heart is. It is the earliest nest of our selfhood.
    • Our experiences inside the home were recorded and marked on particular parts and things in our home.
    • The home thus is an extension of self, because in it, we can directly connect our self.

    Having investments of self to things, made us attached to those things. The more investments of self given to
    the particular thing, the more we identify our selves to it. We also tend to collect and possess properties.

    “a man’s self is the sum total of all what he CAN call his.”
    - James (1890)
    • We are what we have –Russel Belk (1988)
    • The identification of the self to things started in our infancy stage when we make a distinction among self and
    environment and others who may desire our possessions.
    • As we grow older, putting importance to material possession decreases.

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