Chapter II
Lesson 2:
To Buy or Not to Buy?
That is the Question
Lesson objectives:
[Link] the association of self and
possessions,
2. Identify the role of consumer
culture to self and identity, and
3. Appraise one’s self based on the
description of the material self.
Introduction
We are living in a world of sales and
shopping spree. We are given a wide
array of products 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 advertisements are
suggestive of making us feel better
or look good. Part of us wants to
have that product. What makes us
want those products is connected
with who we are. What we want to
have and already possess is related
to ourselves.
Belk (1988) stated, “We regard our
possessions as part of ourselves. We
are what we have and what we
possess”. There is a direct link
between self-identity with what we
have and possess. Our wanting to
have and possess has a connection
with another aspect of the self, the
material self.
Abstraction
Material Self
William James wrote in his book, The
Principles of Psychology in 1890 that
understanding the self can be examined
through its different components.
1. Its constituents
2. The feelings and emotions they
arouse – (self-feelings)
3. The actions to which they prompt –
(self–seeking and self-preservation)
BODY
Intentionally, we are investing in our
body. We are directly attached to this
commodity that we cannot live without.
We strive hard to make sure that this
body functions well and good.
Any ailment or disorder directly affects
us. We do have preferential attachment
or intimate closeness to certain body
parts because of its value to us
CLOTHES
James believed that clothing is an
essential part of the material self. Herman
Lotze, in 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”.
The fabric and style of the clothes we
wear bring sensations to the body to
which directly affect our attitudes and
behavior. Clothing is a form of self-
expression. We choose and wear clothes
that reflect our self.
IMMEDIATE FAMILY
Our parents and siblings hold another
important part of ourself. What they do
or become affects us. When an
immediate family dies, part of our self
dies too. When their lives are in success,
we are proud of them. In their failures,
we are put to shame or guilt.
When they are in a disadvantage
situation, there is an urge to help and
saving them from danger. We place
huge investment in our family when we
see them as the nearest replica of
ourselves.
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.