MATERIAL AND ECONOMIC SELF
Material Self
• Refers to tangible objects, people, or places that
carry the designation of my or mine
• Bodily self and extracorporeal (beyond the body)
self
• According to William James’ perspective, what
happens
Think of your last expensive purchase
• Was it a need? Or a want?
• “Comforts” versus “pleasures” (Skivotsky, 1976)
• People in industrialized countries pursued
comforts to the detriment of pleasures live in a
“joyless economy” (Skivotsky, 1976)
• Comforts – eliminate pains but produce little to
no pleasure
• Pleasures – arousing and pleasurable but short
lived
Materialism- a personal attitude which attaches
importance to acquiring and consuming material goods
• As a personality trait, it includes three original
personality trait – nongenerosity, envy, and
possessiveness
• As a value, it promotes acquisition centrality, the
belief that possessions are the key to happiness
and that success can be judged by a person's
material wealth and the quality and price of
material goods she or he can buy.
• Nongenerosity – an unwillingness to give or
share possession with others.
• Envy – desire for other people's possessions.
• Possessiveness – concern about loss of
possessions and a desire for the greater control
of ownership
On Materialism and Happiness
• Using two measures of subjective well-being, one
study found that materialism was negatively
related to happiness
• Materialism also positively correlates with more
serious psychological issues like depression,
narcissism, and paranoia
• On the other hand, lower levels of well-being can
cause people to be more materialistic in an effort
to get external gratification
To Do or To Have
• Experiential Purchases – those purchases made
with the primary intention of acquiring a life
experience; an event, or a series of events that
one “consumes”
• Material Purchases – those purchases made with
the primary intention of acquiring a material
possession; a tangible object physically retained
in one’s possession
What makes experience more satisfying?
1.
Experiences improve with time
- Experiences give us pleasure in retrospect – in the
memories we revisit and the stories we tell
2. Experiences are resistant to advantageous
comparisons
- Social comparisons and counterfactual
comparisons can diminish the subjective value of
material possessions
3. Experiences have more social value
- Experiences are more likely than material
possessions to foster social relationships
SPIRITUAL SELF
Is religiosity different from spirituality?
 Some people identify themselves as “spiritual and
religious” but others identify themselves as “spiritual
but not religious”
 Recent qualitative findings showed that Filipino youth
view religiosity and spirituality as overlapping
constructs (Ocampo et. al., 2013)
 Religion usually connotes specific behavioral,
doctrinal, and institutional features whereas spirituality
is typically used to represent an individual’s subjective
experiences in attempting to understand life’s ultimate
questions and find meaning and purpose that
transcend the concerns of mundane life
William James’ Spiritual Self
- He equated religion with spirituality, that is, in
relation to the divine. However, he disregarded
institutional religion. Spirituality is more related to
the character of the person or the personality of an
individual
o Spirituality is faith in God
- Trusting God during hard times, and religious
adherence
o Spirituality having a relationship with God
- Claiming God as a friend and having a special
connection with Him through the Holy Spirit
o Spirituality is having a positive character
- It is about developing a good character, which
meant being moral, optimistic and steadfast in times
of difficulties
 Religiosity is devotion to God
- Obeying God’s commandments, reading and
following the bible, and surrendering to God’s will
 Religiosity is participation in religious activities
- Going to mass and confessions, praying the rosary
and novena, and attending religious processions
 Religiosity is being moral
- Knowing what is right and wrong, and avoiding
committing sins
Source: Mansukhani, R. and Resureccion, R. (2009), Spirituality
and the development of positive character among Filipino
adolescents. Philippine Journal of Psychology. 271-290
How do Filipinos develop their spirituality?
1. Through the influence of socialization agents
The family exposes us to religious beliefs and
-
practices. Friends, relatives, and teachers who
provide opportunities to participate in religious
activities also serve a role in the development of our
spirituality
2. By having a role in a religious community
- Allowing young persons to have participation in a
special way to the community they belong to
imbues their lives with meaning
3. Through challenging personal experiences
- Overcoming difficult life experiences and remorse
for recalcitrance aids in developing one’s spirituality
4. Through encountering some blocks in spirituality
- Having weak faith in God, materialistic concerns,
influence of negative models, and preoccupation
with personal problems
Early Filipino religious beliefs
• The 175 ethnolinguistic groups of the Philippines
each had their own form of indigenous
government prior to Islam and Catholicism
• Characterized as animistic, commonly referred to
as Anitism or Bathalism, or the more modern,
less Tagalog-centric Dayawism
• These beliefs now constitutes the Philippine
Mythology
• Animistic – from animism, which is the religious
belief that objects, places and creatures all
possess a distinct spiritual essence
• Anitism – Beliefs in anito
Prior to Spanish colonizers, early Filipinos believe that:
• There is a parallel spirit world
• There were spirits (anito) everywhere
• The events in the human world were influenced
by the actions and interventions of these spirits
• Spirits could be a ninuno (ancestor spirits) and
nature spirits
Babaylan

• Women or feminized men of the various ethnic

groups of the pre-colonial Philippine Islands

• Works as spirit mediums and have spirit guides

or spirit companions

• Specializations: Healing and herbalism,

divination, and sorcery

Albularyo

• Or arbularyo, is a witch doctor commonly found

in the more rural areas of the Philippines who
heals using herbs or traditional practices such as
hilot or massage

How were the Pre-colonial Filipinos “Christianized”?

• Mass baptism

• Reduccion policies

• Attitude of the Spanish clergy in the early phase

• Adaptation of Christianity to the local context

Spanish colonials built a Church on a foundation

of native religions that worshipped a plethora of
gods, goddesses and demigods...The Spaniards
did not obliterate these earlier religions but
brought in a more powerful God.
- James Goodno, The Philippines:
Land of Broken Promises
• Syncretism -

Modern Catholicism: Folk Catholicism

• Self-flagellation and crucifixion

• Spiritual healing using baptismal water

• Cult of the Virgin Mary

• Veneration of Saints

• Cult of the Child Jesus

• Anting-anting or amulets

• Death and other rituals