MODULE: (VAL01) – UNDERSTANDING THE SELF

CHAPTER 6 - THE MATERIAL SELF

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 phenomenon 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.

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?

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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 firm’s 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.

COMMODITY FETISHISM

Cornerstone sway capitalist societies have over people’s material

selves, at least from Marx’s viewpoint. Is what anthropology referring
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.

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