Edited by Steven Lubar and W. David Kingery ‘SIITHSONIAN INSTITUTION PRESS. WASHINGTON AND LONDON© 199 bythe Seihenian Istaton [Aight verre Copy Bator: Grechen Sith Mel Prolactin Edis Duke Soha Deagrers Katee Sine ry of Congres Catalging i Pbleation Dat iar fron hogs: ae om terial elo ‘ed by Seven Esra W: Did Kin Inde ibogrphica rere IN pe SO I pe caliage Teka Sven Hl. Kingery Davi Cer itisy 198 ‘at-de20 seas Dh Library Catling in Paication Dat paces Manatactred in he Unie Staten f America The pape wen hi actin met he e jirements ofthe American National on geared {Stay ona Ee Far permnion te roprdac trations appearing feo. lens tornerpond tly with the teers ofthe mors a ted th inal ‘Thun The Smithton Intton Pres doce inna reproduction hts fr thse station, ‘eiduaty inti «Bo ares for te rue Contents and W. David Kingery ‘The Truth of Mate! Cute: ister or eon? Jes David Pron ‘Why We Nood Tangs 20 Mihaly Csissentnalyi Objects as instrament, Objects ae Signs 30 Jacques Maquet Some Mattes of Sutstance 41, Robert Friedel The Ancestry of Chinese Brome Vosols 61 Jes ResonWhy We Need Things Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi goes without saying that oe comequence of Jose evoltion as elinral ings has been an increasing dependence on objects for tar- val and comfort. Compared with the hunter tatherers,deseribed by Marshall Sabin, who trere harried by the iden of having to accept fits became it meant having to carry one moee lanket or kettle along om their nomadic jour sdoviy beng Irie der tower This prolife 1 problem wore it not for the fa Compete with humans for saree resources inthe re ecenysiem. Fores are bring destroyed 0 [provide umber, wood, nd ply: metals ad ol Why We Neo Tangs 24 re contamed to build and propel vehicles: The potential encegy con vst in our environment i daipated ax we convert into ebice hich sapidly hevome abuaets thie we accelerate the proceses of eu: teopy that degrade the plane. ‘The survival of humankind depends Siding» modus vven mot nal Kegon, and the object that we are icontantly prong. Same of there are obviously dangerous, sch athe innumerable missiles, bombs, assault rifles, and automobiles that currently are the leading ‘causes of death for people under forty year of wg. Others are dangerous fc containers that are slowly shrouing er and the whose chips were etched wth re destroying the sas ‘computer on whiel am wring thes in selves alongside biological ones. Looking oF weapons or vehicen, the record ofan evationary compli sade they shout. For instance, the fet erase stone mise begat the spear, which hngat the arrow and then the bolt the allt. and soon to Star Wars Human vein seems to have lett do with thi evelopment th potentiates inherent i the ebjers themselves. fact eth product of human intentionality, ut that n Lonality itself is conditioned by the existence of previous objerts, When General Motors decides to bil fenton what models are already availabe. When the Pentagon comm sions a new submarine, thin at ie not the exprestion f some abstract human purpose but the reaction to the existence af other submarines Whenever semeane buys a new fod procestr, that person ent expres {ng an essental human need but acting item of eonaconsness shaped Dy appliances. Thus artifacts are sometimes symbiotic with humans, but thee times the relationship i parasite and the survival ofthe bjee, a the expense ofits human host (Cskszentihalyi 1980), Given this interdependence Betwern out survival and that of the artifacts we produce, it seme weful to look ‘ne ine of ars it denon i contin tle more cowl22 inaty Catatonia: relationship we have with objects, we do not achleve a better under. Beet ener lire fea ot eer Polat Unis to emphaslae ts that our dependence on object ie net onl physical but ao, mare important, psychological. Most of the things we take these days do not make if better in any material sense but intend terve table and order thea Tes dfcut to understand our psychological dependence on abjects as long as we hold tothe belief thet human beings are natal in conta ‘whan, thet ei THe hegre ‘uefa prejudice in navigating through the shoals af ie. but it does not Iver up well under laser ex mental proceses is ertremely precarious even in (Gsikstentibalyi 1978, 1982), Contrary to what we ordinarily believe, conssousnes isnot stable, sel-requlting catty. When lft te tall, deprived of or Input, the mind begins to wander andi soon prey tou tions. Most people eqire an external order to heep randomness from Invading their mind. Its very dial to hep ideas straight without the sistance of sensory template that ves them boundaries and direction, When people have meth they generally begin to fret, become Aepresied, and become araiout ules they tara on the television ve fn some other activity that wll dire thee attention, theie moods progres: sively deteriorate Thats why people report their worst moods Sunday ‘mornings, when, deprived ofa cultural seript, they flounder i the uss size of freedom. The mind war not designed to be sel-regulating oto function well when ing (Caikeentnly and LeRevre 1989; Kuby and (Caikszntmialy 1990) sind unaided to keep oeder in the tempor itfculeto remember the quality and texture af st experiences and keepin mind a's plana and hope for the future ‘Without external props even our personal identity fades and goes ont of the self a fragile construction ofthe mind. One must conclude ‘state of peychic entropy isthe normal state of comscousnent—at Inu for organo, lke ut, who have stepped Inyond the iden of Wy We end Tings 23 ‘hele gentle programming swe experience this payehic entropy ax semething unpleasant an therefore sep searching for ways to restablah a parponcful ardor ints send objets can be help A Arendt observed seer eee oan Ys ofthe mort have the fet of stain uma Ke, es apie he subjectivity af men stands the atv a the seemsnade words «Without «word bere eo (arent 19585152) Artifacts help objctfy the self in atleast three major ways. They dso frat by demenstrating he ovner's power, ial erotic energy and place ia the social hierarchy. Second, objects reveal the continuity of the self through time, by proving foi of involvement i the present, mementon sand even ol sgnposts to ture goal. Third, objects sive conerete evidence of one's place in cal network ax symbol iter i together) of valued relationships. In thewe three ways ‘things stabilize our sense af who we ae: they give 4 permanent shape to ‘our views ofourscles that otherwise woul quickly dole the fx of Objocts of Pacer rom carlo mes people have taken pant choose and ow things that ‘encapsulate their personal power: For men this power ten to he synony sous with tediional virile vet tive American braves carried around thee necks meine bundles bok ing the claves of the bear they defnted in combat or ether objects of ‘momentous significance that reflected the cnet’ ability contol physi ‘al and sacred energy: EvanePritchard noted tht for the Nuer paso. ralsts ofthe Sudan power was concentrated in the spe ‘Arman’ ting spear (ut eonstanly nis hand, forming alot Part af him. and etna tied of sharpening polishing i for Nace very prod of hse,» Insomnia, for itis amextesion and enteral sili stands for the24 May Colazentitalt strenght and virtue ofthe pron, ea proj the Power ial symbliced by kinetic objects lou today its exprested through cars, boats, tole, sports equipment, and household appl is also invested in object that ave «great sass, such nposingfarniture. But symbols of status have become extremely com- ples and now one cm show superiority by calletng att or almort, {hing else that is rare) or by owning things that are asel, ancient oF jit ahead ofthe tne. "The power of women has traditionally been expressed through ob> jecteymbolsing equally orotyped feminine qualities, such x weetive- nce. Dremen, ornate, Jewelry, furs, silver, ‘chins, domestic appliances, and fine furiture witness to « woman’ abil ity to control energy (often meaning the prychie energy of men) and hence the tapertoaes of he Te bas heen argued that the desire or compalsion to dopey one's ‘entity may have heen stronger impetas i the development of technol gy than the search for survival and comfort. Dscning the introduction ‘of the fist metal objects atthe ead of the Neolithic period, Renfrew Tn evra reso the word thes Den mtd the cae of metal {Gel innevatins i partial, that the development of rome ad ‘thee metals tefl commodies was «ch ate phenomenon than their atom as new and tractive material, employed incomes f gay. «non cae ary tally appent 0 eve bee peeled realy betes th predate had merel proper th that made hem "mem aymbole and person ‘torment in maneer that by foray stein, could atract F prin (Rene 1996-168, 16) te Objects still serve the same seenbancing purpose. In deseribing the ating wens wed by tudinal uppercase families af the New Fngland town he tue, Warner (1953:120) writes: “They pve objective exprese ‘hon to the inner Beling ofthe person involved about themselves, help to ‘einforee the person's opinion about hime, and increase his sente of ‘court Recanae our seme of elf is vague and imecure and because it Satie ishianenadiiies gee seteh sake Pianeta Ait al ny Wend Tage 25 continue to rely om displaying objects having qualities aters prize so aso ft a oll and poe nenae of who we are through the mediation of the ‘ings we ow (Objects en the Contin ofthe Self For moat people the home isnot just a wiitarian sheer bu «repository Df things shoe familiarity and coneretenest hep organize the consi fs oftheir owner, direting into wellworngroavee The home contain 2 symbole ecology that represents both continuity and change in the ie ‘nse and thos gies permanence tot elasve seen, a we Iarned in study ofthe meanings that household objets Ind for a representative ‘ample af American faites (Calasentmibalyi and Rochberg-Halton wa. A wenlthy attorney whose howe ws fll of rare art and expensive furniture when asked what was the mst special objet he owned, the interviewer down tothe basement den and took oat of tri eel a i hoe el life was fresh and spontaneous. Now be fle weighed den with cares nd whenever be is depressed he oes to the dent play few tunes, and ‘ome uf his worries disappear fue atime. So the trombone heps both fou ‘resucing entropy in consciousness, and vividly brings back ad ‘emorie and experiences, this adding seme of depth and whalenes the wolf f ite omer, For this man the expensive clletion of art and furniture served a power objects. as signs of i status and achievements Bt the most meaningal symbol of his privat self was the trombone, ‘hich alone ha the power to put him bach in touch with himself ‘The sles of young people and old, af men and women, are willy expressed through diferent objects. In our studs we found thatthe most, Important houichold object fr young people isthe stereo set and. quite bit farther down the lie, the television set, followed by some muse instrument suchas gitar or trumpet. Al hes are things that peeduce vial, and hence stay ontrack. Musi is expecally important in adolescence ‘ot mode: Whenever thee threaten to engl teenager's consiounnen, turing on tape helps focus and abjectfy emotions the muse andthe Iyricewellet the formlem yearnings a the listener and give them sub- ‘stance an lege TFeclatu fara polat ynoulpeare, aid hocks aseve as the‘values and tases as well a the accomplishments ofthe owner Fr elder photographs are the things most often mentioned at speral Pe tures serve asians ofthe past, conerete reminders of fe that etherwie ‘would run the isk of geting lot in the abyinths af memory. The objets people se as special in their home point t diferent Airectons im time, revealing different aspects ofthe self that are impor= tant, depending the person's age. Teenagers fr insane, are inter tsted almost exclusively in ebjects that embody their current concerns ‘hinge with which they cam interact here and new, The present self ho af, and action is its main mode of expression, ‘Theie parents are almost evenly dived between the pasty present, 1nd future Some of the objets they own are cherished caine they bring hack arierapect ofthe sf: examples are a youthful dary wel-used hiking hoot, oF the attorney's trombone mentioned earlier. Some of the sbjeets are things being sed right now al hus expres the current stage of the selfs development-—t musical instrument, perkape, or some ans: And some things are important because they stand for what the tomner hopes wo accomplish i dhe fature—a French grammar, which ew 1 Long- anticipated European vacation. or sembling» roofyp solar energy collector, which urges the owner to at out his or her environmental concerns in the fare brlance sits agains the past self ‘i most prominently evoked by the symbolic ecology ofthe heme. Instead faction, contemplation isthe preferred way of relating te thingy that ‘represent former actions and evens. But snemphasis on the past docs nt mean a complete absorption init nour study 57 perent of the eldest emeration of respondents also mentioned object that were spec ‘came they pointed t the present ort the fa In alti to differences da to progreision slang the life course ‘on finds many patterns that distinguish one ger fm the ether Av one would expect, the selves of men are much more often expresed through active inatramental jects sch as television et tools, sports equipment, vehicles, and cameras, Womeny on the other Jha, mention signieantly more often things that expen «concen for imarturance and conservation—howseplant, plats, gam, photograp textiles, and seulptures. It is remarkable how even im thi day nal ge sender stereotypes sill foursh in the object en ad women chowse to represent their entities with ty We Nea Tings 27 (Objects and Relationships [Nexto giving permanence to the self, the most frequen symbolic wie of household object isto give permanence tothe relationships that define ‘he individual in the socal etork. Inthe sense things sted forthe es that link a person to others. OF the youngest respondents TL perent mentioned abjecte that were special Ireause they reminded the owner of his oF her family; in the parental generation the proportion was 85 per- cent and in the grandparents’ generation, 6 pores ‘A woman feels «special attachment tothe chair in which she sat to ‘man looks with plesstre atthe escape hanging on the living-room wal, which he bought during his Mexican honeymoons photographs chronicle the growth of ehildrew and prandhildren, Bt i only the immetiat family whose presence shines forth fom special Relatives of all kinds are recalled by the sheets fling re: There ithe ql sewn by Aunt Ely the ed in which Grandmother ‘was born, poreelaia cups from Great-grandmothers family, and the Bible ineribed by even more distant sneeator, Friendships aso are commemorated by objets in at leas ‘ofthe homes. The objets that most often recall fiends are paintings furniture, and sculptures (including plastic figurines). Ovi of mes contain abject that embody some ial of the owner ‘objects that most led themseler te this are hooks, which generally siz nify values such a wisdom, creativity and courage plant, which sual refer to such values us nurturance, carey and lve for life; and musical struments. Eshni origin are mot often abject by plateware uly ‘ur, and paintings; religions identity, by hooks and sculpture. Families whose members have strung poutine feng for one another for their home possess many objects that ate cherished Because they symbolize common tis. In the ten “warmest” households in our stds, seven husbands mentioned special objects that referred to thele wives, Uhereas only one often usunds in the “coolest” families mentioned» *ymhol having to do with wife tn warm bones dlls ave more symbas relating to their own parents, ther children, and their own chilhood, ve hee babies toeoarth Ina stable culture, where relationships continue uninterrupted from rae to grave, thre may not be anc to secure one’s ps ‘yeh of kinship theowgh material symbols. But in our male America sorlety thingy play an important role in reminding us of who we are wth respect to whom we belong. One young woman we interviewed answered if ale28 hay clssontihaht ‘ur questions about things with dain, prafesing that she wa not a fnldam materialist." that abjects did not matter to her, that she eared ‘nly for human relationships. t turned out however, that she had no {amily and no fiends Im general i the home had fo things hat evoked meaning ite owner tended tobe scaly hoa ‘Our addition to materia is in large part due 1a paradesieal need to meters thn preetionnace of eemeiones lls te ly f things ‘The holy isnot large, beautiful, and permanent enough t0 satisfy our seme of tif, We need jects to manny our power enhance sur best. nd extend our memory int the future. Taleoking at thew functions; it scems clear that power chjets re not ‘nly the moat dangerous ht ales the most expenelve wth expect to searce rr. When things are necessary to prove dominance and peri tart evcalate very quickly. It string to note in comparison how inexpensive things that stand for kimi and ‘elehobacs totlbel Tokzem of cemetahratioyrepacty ant love yp ‘ally have trivial intrinsic value, and the labor invested in them i uovally ‘ohuntary. Th, the hind of elves individual howe to bul have great ‘consequences forthe material culture and forthe natural se ane eae pa the saints wore ther selfhoo asa light cloak on thei shoulders. Now tat lanet carries the burden of the equivalent of 4,000, pounds of TNT, we cam sr the wisdom ofthat image. ‘The addiction to object i of course best cured by learning to dei Pete ee ieee ed oe ies le ‘ein the mced to cp tet a sings in spe by lenin om things decreases, This isthe main advantage of «genuinely rich symbolic eu ture: I gives people poetry songs, crafts, prayers and rituals that keep payehic entropy at bay. A Babin eam afford to live in at empty howe, herauae he does nat eed objects to keep his mind on course. In our cinta taday ee aheea beg te eral ‘re alo partally freed from reliance on an objected consciousness, We ery much weed te learn more about how ths inner control can be ‘chive, Then objets ean agzn be used primary as instruments rather ‘han a projections of our sever, which ke the servants created bythe sorcerers apprentice, threaten to drown their masters wih eee ‘ fewoarees and slat oreo Why We end Tinge 29 Arend, Has ikea, Maly 192, “Aentin and the Whole Approach 6 Be Tavioe™In The Stream of Conacouen, ited by K. 8. Hope and J 2. “Toman «Paycholgy of Optinal Experience” In Revie of Perna and Sol Pyrola ol. 2 aed by In Wheeler. Revers keenly, Milly an ith aes 1989. “Oia Experience in ‘Work and Leisee.” Jena of Personality and Socal Prycholy 6, n. 5 (Cites, Maly and Eugene Mecberg alin. 1901. The Meaning of ‘Things: Domestic Soba and the Self. New York: Cambridge University sh, 1958. The Human Condon Chicas: University of Chicage Pritchard 1940, 1956, The Nae: A Dseripton of the Mes of “veined and PaialIsiasions of « Nii Pople New York: Oxford atey, Raber Wand Maly Casson, 190 Teton and he Qual “ty of life. Hilde, N.}+ Lawrence Erlbaum, Masiminis Fost, 1969,“Prychoge! Esato.” Paper posted at the rangle Lateran Church of America meting “Fen 200 an Beyond” ‘St Char, I, March 30-Api 2 ‘ope In The Social Life of Things, ete by A. Appar 181-168. Nowe ‘York: Cambridge Univesity Pre Waren, W. May 1953: American Life: Dream ad Reali, Chicago: The Ui ‘erty of Chicago Pre