TO BUY OR NOT TO BUY?

THAT IS THE QUESTION!

LESSON 2
INTRODUCTION
• We are living in a world of sale and shopping spree
• 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
• Some of us wanted to have and possess products that are related to our self
• Belk (1998) stated that “we regard our possessions as parts of our selves. We
are what we have and what we possess”
• There is direct link between self-identity with what we have and possess
• Our wanting to have and possess has a connection with another aspect of our
self, our material self
ABSTRACTION
MATERIAL SELF

• William James, a Harvard psychologist in the late 19th century, wrote his
book, The Principles of Psychology in 1980 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

Constituents of self are composed of the material self, the social self,
the spiritual self and the pure ego (Trentmann 2016; Green 1997)
MATERIAL SELF
 According to James, primarily is about our bodies, clothes, immediate
family, and home. We are also deeply affected by these things because we have
put much investment to our self to them.

BODY – the innermost part of our material self. We are directly attached to
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 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 like the
celebrity Mariah Carey who was reported to have placed a huge amount for the
insurance of her vocal cords and legs (Sukman 2016).

CLOTHES – Influenced by “Philosophy of Dress” by Herman Lotze, James

believed that clothing is an essential part of the material self. 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.” (Watson 2014). The fabric and style of the clothes we wear bring
sensations to the body to which directly affect our attitudes and behavior. Thus,
clothes placed in the 2nd hierarchy of material self. Clothing is a form of self-
expression. We choose and wear clothes that reflect our self (Watson 2014)

IMMEDIATE FAMILY – our parents and siblings hold another great

important par of our self. What they do or become affects us. When one
family member dies, part of our self dies too. When they into victories, we
feel their victories as if were holding their trophy and etc.
HOME – is where our heart is. It is the earliest nest of our selfhood.
Experiences inside the home were recorded and marked on particular parts
and things in our home