Lesson 3: The Material Self/ Economic Self

We are living in a 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 advertisements are suggestive of making us feel better or look good.
Part of us wants to have that product. What makes us want to have and already
possess is related to our self.

Belk (1988) stated that “we regard our possessions as part of our selves. We are
what we have and what we possess.” Our wanting to have and possess has a
connection with another aspect of the self, the material self.

Material self refers to all of the physical elements that reflect who a person is
which includes his/ her body, possessions and home. Materialism refers to the theory or
belief that nothing exists except matter, its movements and its modifications; the theory
or belief that consciousness and will are wholly due to material agency; a tendency to
consider material possessions and physical comfort as more important than spiritual
values.

What to Expect?

At the end of this lesson, the student is expected to:

1. Define material self;

2. Describe how material self affects a person; and
3. Explain the relationship between possessions and the self.

We Are What We Have

People had a “material self”, in the words of William James, the Harvard
psychologist and giant of the American intellectual scene in the late nineteenth century.
According to James, the material self is about our bodies, family and reputation but also
clothes and his house, his lands and horses, and yacht and bank account. If they grew,
their owners felt triumphant. If they faded, people felt a part of themselves was dying.
We are deeply affected by these things because we have put much investment of our
self to them.

The material self is constituted by our bodies, clothes, immediate family, and
home. It is to these things that we are most deeply affected because of our investments
of self within these things. The innermost part or our material self is our 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.

Influenced by the “Philosophy of Dress” by Herman Lotze, James believed that

clothing is an essential part of the material self. Clothing is a form of self-expression.
We choose and wear clothes that reflects our self.

Moreover, our immediate family hold another great important part of our self.
What they do or become affects us. When an immediate family members dies, part of
our self dies, too. When their lives are in success, we feel their victories as if we are the
one holding the trophy.

The fourth component of material self is 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 saying 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 investments of self to 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 tended to collect and possess properties. Goldberg and Lewis (1978) go further in
suggesting that “many collectors who are inhibited and uncomfortable in social
interaction, surround themselves with favoured objects upon which they project human-
like qualities. They practically talk to these objects; they find comfort in being with them
and regard them as friends”. The collections in different degree of investment of self,
becomes part of the self. Possessions then become a part or an extension of the self.
 As we grow older, putting importance to material possession decreases.
However, 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. There are even times, when material
possession of a person that is closely identified to the person, gains acknowledgment
with high regard even if the person already passed away. Example 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 much identified with the owner who passed away; the
favourite pet or book, among others that the owner placed a high value, these favourite
things are symbols of the owner.

The possessions that we dearly have tell something about who we are, our self-
concept, our past, and even our future.

There is a connection between wealth and well-being, a belief that feeds what
Juliet Schor (1998) calls the “cycle of work and spend” – work more to buy more. The
level of consumption is set mainly by people’s choices about how much to work, and
therefore how much income to earn. The individual chooses between hours at work
(which yield income) and leisure (a good in itself, but a costly one because it entails
foregoing income).

Curtis (2017) manifested that cash can serious bearing on one’s belief regarding
the way a person views himself/ herself. The following are evidences behind the idea
that money truly can change people:

a. Social and Business Value

By recognizing a task’s social value, a person sees it as a worthy investment of

time and a part of his/ her social duty, and he/she is usually happy to help out. When
money is offered as the motivation, however, people then start thinking less of the
social aspect and more about the business value.
 As a matter of fact, even relatives who ask for a favour nursing the dependent
senior citizens require compensation to equate the effort done. The more money
received the more frequent visits and more tasks done. If less money is paid, the
lesser the chances of coming back with many alibis and excuses given.

b. Self-Sufficiency and Service

Those who are conscious of money typically strive to be more self-sufficient than
those for whom money isn’t a priority. When given a very difficult and even
impossible task, with instructions that help was available, it was the money-related
group that seemed the most intent on getting the job done alone, even when it was
not possible to finish the task solo. It only means that money-conscious individuals
are more self-sufficient than their peers, particularly when money is made the focus.

c. Self-View

The amount one earns could have an effect on how he/she views both himself/
herself and others. The wealthiest people are those with the deepest sense of “class
essentialism” – the idea that differences between classes are based upon identity
and genetics, rather than circumstance. Poor people tend to believe that social class
was not related to genes, that essentially, anyone can be rich and anyone can be
poor. Rich people were more likely to believe that wealth was part of genes and
identity, that they were entitled to wealth based upon their personal circumstances
and actions.

d. Ethics

Those who perceive themselves to be in a higher class were the most likely to
engage in unethical behaviour, particularly when a symbol of wealth was introduced,
such as cutting off a pedestrian when in a luxury car. Self- interest maximization is
an idea that suggests those who have the most money or occupy higher classes are
more likely to take a “what’s in it for me?” attitude.

e. Addiction
 Many addictions begin because a person gets a positive response from a certain
type of behaviour, whether it’s a happy feeling that one gets from shopping or a thrill
that comes from gambling, actively seeking out that behaviour again and again for
the same outcome can trigger an addiction. This is called “behavioural or process
addiction” a compulsive behaviour not motivated by dependency on an addictive
substance, but rather by a process that leads to a seemingly positive outcome.
Earning money can be very addictive for some individuals. That high of a big check
or a well- padded savings account can become the sole purpose of a wealth-
searcher’s life.