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Materialself

William James described the material self as having four main constituents: the body, clothes, immediate family, and home. According to James, we deeply identify with and invest ourselves in these material possessions. We feel preferential closeness to certain body parts and see our clothing as a form of self-expression. Our immediate family members also make up an important part of our material self. Finally, our home represents the earliest nest of our selfhood and is an extension of who we are.

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Ivan D. Mosquito
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20 views

Materialself

William James described the material self as having four main constituents: the body, clothes, immediate family, and home. According to James, we deeply identify with and invest ourselves in these material possessions. We feel preferential closeness to certain body parts and see our clothing as a form of self-expression. Our immediate family members also make up an important part of our material self. Finally, our home represents the earliest nest of our selfhood and is an extension of who we are.

Uploaded by

Ivan D. Mosquito
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Material self


William James, wrote in his book, the Principle of
Psychology in 1890 that understanding the self can be
examined through its different components. He
described these components as;
1) its constituents; and
(2) feelings and emotions they arouse-self feelings;
(3) the actions to which they prompt self-seeking and
self-preservation.
constituents of self
material self, 
the social self and the
spiritual self
and the pure ego
The material self, according to James primarily is about our
bodies, clothes, immediate family, and home. We are
deeply affected by these things because we have but much

investment of our self to them.
Body is the innermost part of our material self. We do have
certain preferential attachment or intimate closeness to

certain body parts because of its value to us.

Cloth is next to body. Clothing is an essential part of the


material self. According to Lotze in his book, Microcosmus,
anytime we bring an object into the surface of our body, we
invest that object into the consciousness of our personal
existence taking in its contours to be our own and making
it part of the self (Watson 2014). Clothing is a form of self-
expression. We choose and wear clothes that reflect our self
(Watson
 Immediate family is the third hierarchy. Our parents
and siblings hold another great important part of our
self. We place huge investment in our immediate family

when we see them as the nearest replica of our self.

 Home is the fourth components of material self. Home is


where our heart is. It is the earliest nest of our selfhood.
The home thus is an extension of self, because in it, we
can directly connect our self.
We are what we have
 Russel Belk (1988) posits that "we regard our possessions as
part of ourselves. We are what we have and what we

possess." 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. However, material possession gains higher value
in our lifetime if we use material possession to find
happiness, associate these things with significant events,
accomplishments and people in our lives.
 The possession that we clearly have tells something about
who we are, our self-concept, our past and even our future.

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