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Lesson 6 Material Self

(1) The document discusses William James' theory of the material self, which he described as having four main constituents: our body, clothes, immediate family, and home. (2) James believed we develop a strong attachment to these things because we invest parts of our self-identity in them. (3) Russel Belk later expanded on this, stating "we regard our possessions as parts of ourselves" and that possessions can become extensions of our self that convey information about who we are.

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68 views4 pages

Lesson 6 Material Self

(1) The document discusses William James' theory of the material self, which he described as having four main constituents: our body, clothes, immediate family, and home. (2) James believed we develop a strong attachment to these things because we invest parts of our self-identity in them. (3) Russel Belk later expanded on this, stating "we regard our possessions as parts of ourselves" and that possessions can become extensions of our self that convey information about who we are.

Uploaded by

Daniel john Salgado
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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GEC 1: Understanding the Self

Lesson 6 - Material Self/Economic Self

Starting Accurately (Introduction)

We are living in world of sale and shopping spree. We are given a wide array of
products to purchase from a simple set of spoon and fork to owning a restaurant.
Almost everywhere, including the digital space, we can find promotions of product
purchase. Product advertisement are suggestive of making us feel better or look good.
Pat of us wants to have that product. What makes us want to have those products are
connected with who we are. What we want to have and already possess is related to our
self.
Belk (1988) stated that “we regard our possessions as parts of our selves. We
are what we have and what we possess.” There is a direct link between self-identity with
what we have and possess. Ur wanting to have and possess has a connection with
another aspect of the self, the material self.
Let us try to examine ourselves further in the lens of material self.

Inculcating Concepts (Inputs/ Lesson Proper)

Material Self

A Harvard psychologist in the late nineteenth century, William James, 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) its
constituents; (2) the feelings and emotions they arouse – self-feelings; (3) the actions to
which they prompt – self-seeking and self-preservation. The constituents of self are
composed of the material self, the social self, the spiritual self, and the pure ego
(Trentmann 2016; Green 1997).
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
put much investment of our self to them.
The innermost part of our materials self is our body. Intentionally, we are
investing in our body. We are directly attached to this commodity that we cannot lie
without. We strive hard to make sure that this body functions well and good. Any ailment
or disorder directly affect 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 certain body parts insured. Celebrities, like
Mariah Carey who was reported to have placed a huge amount for the insurance of her
vocals cords and legs (Sukman 2016).
Next to our body are the clothes we use. Influenced by the “Philosophy of Dress”
by Herman Lotze, James believed that clothing is an essential part of the material self.
Lotze on his book, Microcosmus, stipulates that ‘any time 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). The fabric and style of the clothes we wear bring sensations to the body which
directly affect our attitudes and behavior. Thus, clothes ae placed in the second
hierarchy of material self. Clothing is a form of self-expression. We choose and wear
clothes that reflect our self (Watson 2014).
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 their victories as if we are the holding the trophy. In their failures, we are put to
shame or guilt. When they are in advantage situation, there is an urgent urge to help like
a voluntary instinct of saving one’s self from danger. We place huge investment in our
immediate family when we see them as he nearest replica of our self.
The fourth component of material self is our home. 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. There was an old cliché about rooms:
“if only walls can speak.” The home thus is an extension of self, because in it, we can
directly connect our self.
Having investment of self in things, made us attached to those things. The more
investment of self-given to the particular thing, the more we identify ourselves to it. We
also tend to collect and possess properties. The collection in different degree of
investment of self, becomes part of the self. As James (1890) described self: a man’s
self is the sum total of all what he CAN call his.” Possessions then become a part or an
extension of the self.
We Are What We Have

Russel Belk (1988) posits that “…we regard our possessions s 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 gins higher value in our lifetime if we use material
possession.to find happiness, associate these things the significant events,
accomplishments, and people in our lives. There are even times, when material
possession of a person is closely identified to the person, gains acknowledgment with
high regard even if the person already passed away. Examples of these are the chair in
the dining room on which the person is always seated, the chair will be the constant
reminder of the person seated there; a well-loved and kept vehicle of the person, which
some of the bereaved family members have a difficulty to sell or let go of because that
vehicle is very identified with the owner who passed away; the favorite pet or book,
among others that the owner placed a high value, these favorite things are symbols of
the owner.
The possessions that we dearly have tell something about how we are, our self-
concept, our past, and even our future.
References

Belk, Russel (1988). Are we what we know? Accessed October 10, 2017. http://www.
writing.ucsb.edu/faculty/tingle/courseW2ACEREWE2.pdf.

Belk, Russel (1988). Possessions and the Extended Self. Accessed October 10, 2017.
http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdocdownload?doi=10.1.1.588.621&rep=rep1&t
type=pdf.

Green, Christopher (1997). Classics in the History of Psychology. An internet resource


developed by Christopher Green York University. Toronto, Ontario. Accessed
October 10, 2017.http://psyhoclassics.yorku.ca/James/Principles/.

Jirgensone, Austria (2016). We are what we have. Accessed October 10, 2017.
http://kennisbank.hva.nl/docuents/641720.

Makan, Sunil (2016). ELLE. 13 Celebrities With Insured Body Parts That Are Worth
More Than Your House. Accessed October 1, 2017. http://ww.elleuk.com/life-
and- culture/articles/a30167/marihcarey-jennifer-lopez-doly-parton-celebrities-
insured-body-parts/.

Treatmann, Frank (2016). Empire of things: How We Became a World of Consumers,


from the Fifteenth Century to the Twenty-First (UK: Allen Lane/Penguin; US:
HaperCollins). Accessed October 10, 2017.
https://wwww.unlimited.world/unlimited/the-material-self

Watson, Cecelia (2004). The Sartorial Self: William James’s Philosophy of Dress.
Accessed October 10, 2017.
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/8333321_The_Sartorial_SElf_William
_James’s_Philosophy_of_Dress.

William, James. The Principles of Psychology. New York: Dover Publications: Assessed
October 10, 2017. http://niasconsciounesscentre.co/Courses/2015-
Readings/Signs of Self/03.William%20James%20on%20the%20Self.pdf.

William, James. The Self and Its Selves. DJJR Sociology. Accessed October 10,
2017.http:/mills-soc116.wikidot.com/notes:james-self-and-its-selves.

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