To Buy or Not to Buy

Gec 2: Chapter 2: Lesson 2

 Components in understanding self-William
James

2. Self-feelings –the 3. Self-seeking/self-

1. Its constituents -
feelings and preservation –
component part of
emotions they actions which they
something
arouse prompt
 What are constituents of self? (Trentman and
Green)

1. Material 2. Social 3. Spiritual 4. Pure

self self self ego
What is material self?
• It is about our bodies, clothes,
immediate family and home.
• We are deeply affected by
these things because we have
to put much investment of
our self to them.
• The innermost part of our
material self is our Body.
• We are investing in our body.
 Philosophy of dress by
Herman Lotze
• Our body are the clothes we use.
• James believed that clothing is an
essential part of the material self.
• Anytime 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.
• The fabric and style of the
clothes we wear bring sensations
to the body to which directly
affect attitudes and behavior.
• Clothes are placed in the second
hierarchy of material self.
• Clothing is a form of self
expression.
• We choose and we wear clothes
that reflect our self (Watson
2014)
 The third hierarchy is our
immediate family
Our parents and siblings holds another great important part of our self.

What they become affect us.

When an immediate family member dies, part of our self dies, too.

When their lives are in success, we feel their victories.

In their failures, we put shame or guilt.

We place huge investment in our immediate family when we see them as the
nearest replica of our self.
The 4 th
component of
material self- 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.
We are What we Have
We are what we have and what we
posses.
As we grow older, putting
importance to material possession
decreases.
The identification of the self things
started in our infancy stage when
we make a distinction among self
and environment and others who
may desire our possessions.
Material possession gains higher
value in our lifetime if we use
material possession to find
happiness, associate these things
with significant events,
accomplishments, and people in
our lives