MODULE UNDERSTANDING THE SELF

CHAPTER 6: THE MATERIAL SELF

Objectives:
a.) Explain the association of self and possessions.
b.) Identify the role of consumer to self and identity.
c.) Appraise one’s self based on the description of material self.

DIDEROT EFFECT
 it is one of the most commonly-experienced phenomena of consumption out
there.
 it was originally articulated through an essay entitled “Regrets on Parting with My
Old Dressing Gown” by the 18th century French Philosopher Denis Diderot
 This phenomena suggests that one innocent purchase can unexpectedly spiral
into an endless cycle of complementary consumption: the kind which preys on
one’s yearning for a cohesive identity.
 Denis Diderot’s last words are “ The first step towards Philosophy is incredulity.”

THE MATERIAL SELF: LIVING IN A MATERIAL WORLD

William James ( 1842-1910) – an individual’s selfhood can be broken down into several
fragments, with the material self being one.
Microcosmus ( 1890) – asserted that each time we “bring them into relationship with the
surface of our body” and inject them with his very “consciousness of our personal
existence.”
BEST BUYS: CONSUMER CULTURE AND THE SELF

“People are now more than ever, better informed of their needs”, says the believer, “We
are under attack on all fronts.,” says the cynic.

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Consumptions has become so pervasive that it now seems second nature to all is yes;
part of our identity, even.
I SAW THE SIGN: THE SEMIOTICS OF CONSUMPTION
Ferdinand de Saussure ( 1857-1913) , meanings are based off conventions and are,
by nature, arbitrary. Words therefore are:
a. unmotivated signs, with no fixed definitions.
b. present always is the signifier, which can be a phrase, sound, or image.
c. signified- or the concept or the abstraction attached to it.
Paradigmatic Chain – a continuum of words with identical functions that can serve as
substitute for each other,
though some may not be neutral when used.

LANGUE AND PAROLE

LANGUE – is a language as a structure that dictates the rules and conventions.

PAROLE – is any linguistic fragment or item extracted
from the very structure.
DENOTATION AND CONNOTATION
Denotation (object language) – is defined as the literal interpretation of something.
Connotation – pertains to culture specific meanings and ideologies, attached to the
purposes of myth-making.

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ANCHORAGE AND RELAY

ANCHORAGE – underlines the importance of text in making sense of an image.
RELAY – puts emphasis on a more complementary relationship between the two.
How Do I Decide What To Buy?
1. Need Recognition
2. Information Search
3. Evaluation of Alternatives
4. Purchase Decision
5. Post purchase Behavior
THE CALVINIST PRINCIPLE

The theology of John Calvin has been influential in both the development of the system
of belief now known as Calvinism and in Protestant thought more generally. The
Encyclopedia of Christianity suggests that: His theological importance is tied to the
attempted systematization of the Christian doctrine.

THE MARXIST PERSPECTIVE

Karl Marx theory of Capitalism :
- Marx argued that the only source of a firms profit is the labor it employs.
- Marx based his view on an application of the theory of value.
- Machine without workers are useless.
- Workers without machines, on the other hand, are not useless because the workers can
make the machines that they need to do their work.

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COMMODITY FETISHISM
A cornerstone sway capitalist societies have over people’s material selves, at least from
Marx’s viewpoint. Is what anthropology refers to as fetishism: a rather primitive belief that
inanimate objects can be imbued with god-like powers.The danger here is that many
people might then view said products as if they harbor intrinsic value in and of
themselves even without human agency.
ALIENATION

To know more about Material Self, please click the link below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1kl8ug3p4lw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yovb_zPhDug

Alata, Castillo, et. al, Understanding The Self. Rex Book Store: 2018
http://www.logotherapyinstitute.org/About_Viktor_Frankl.html

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