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The Psychological Case Against Materialism
backseatLover12
Posts: 2,312
…as we gear up for the most materialistic time of year.
http://nymag.com/scienceofus/2014/12/psychological-case-against-materialism.html
Merry STUFFmas Everyone!
http://nymag.com/scienceofus/2014/12/psychological-case-against-materialism.html
Love of stuff will make you unhappy: You know this, and in case you forget, there is probably, somewhere, some version of A Christmas Carol playing on television right now to remind you. But in a release this morning from the American Psychological Association, psychology professor Tim Kasser gives an interesting perspective from his research on just why placing a high value on stuff is no good. In a recent meta-analysis he published with colleagues from the University of Sussex, he found that materialism seems to undermine some of our deepest human needs.
Specifically materialistic values are associated with living one's life in ways that do a relatively poor job of satisfying psychological needs to feel free, competent, and connected to other people. When people do not have their needs well-satisfied, they report lower levels of well-being and happiness, as well as more distress.
Autonomy, competence, and relatedness are, according to a popular psychological theory of human happiness, three of our most basic psychological needs. We need to feel as if we have a certain amount of control over our lives; we need to feel as if we are contributing to our environments — to work, home, or elsewhere — and experiencing growth in that area by learning new skills; finally, we need to feel as if we belong somewhere. Focusing on acquiring more stuff is not going to help satisfy any of those needs, says Kasser. It's an interesting insight that comes at one of the most stuff-crazed times of the year.
Merry STUFFmas Everyone!
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EV
Toronto Film Festival 9/11/2007, '08 - Toronto 1 & 2, '09 - Albany 1, '11 - Chicago 1
Yes! One of the best! A pile of stuff! Hahaha!
I bet Carlin gave gifts to his family - read stuff
Anyone one who is scrutinized enough will reveal some hypocritical traits. I'm totally fine with that and totally fine with admitting my faults and hypocrisies. That doesn't mean we should foster hypocrisy, it just means the more we are aware of our shortcomings, the more we can work on doing a better job of what ever it is we aspire to.
Most of us would have a very difficult time making this transition quickly. But moving toward that goal can be very rewarding. Making food from scratch is so much more rewarding and healthier than processed garbage food. Same with growing at home whether it be a small farm, a large garden or growing herbs in a kitchen window. Same with making your own music, etc. Given the chance to experience the satisfaction of anything DIY, most people find doing things for oneself very rewarding. One of my cousins kids attended a private school in which only part of the day involved regular classroom learning. The rest of the school day was spent learning hands-on skills and learning how their math, writing, science etc. skills applied to those manual skills. If all schools worked this way, most of us would grow up learning the value of living more simply and provided for ourselves more rather than the eventual degradation of living off pre-processed crap.
So to answer your question I would say, ultimately, yes.
I'm curious- are you using some of these ideas with your students and if so, what is their response? Does it pique their interest?
Definitely not one pre-disposed to simple living. Look at Wolf House!
http://www.parks.sonoma.net/wolfhouse.html
What I did was to set up a class where we put Thoreau's ideas on trial. People sympathetic with Thoreau's anti-capitalism and distrust of a consumerist mindset would be asked to play devil's advocate and present the case against Thoreau, and people who found Thoreau's ideas either unworkable or hypocritical for whatever reason would be asked to defend him. This encouraged students to be more evenhanded about his ideas. I found that in the end, a great discussion ensued where the trial scenario gave way to honest appraisal of the prescience of what Thoreau was trying to advocate in his time, in spite of his relative shortcomings. I know that a few of the class are going to write about Thoreau for their upcoming assignment.
That sounds like a great lesson plan/learning experience. Lucky students to a have a good teacher such as yourself to expand their minds and challenge their thinking. Well done!
My 16 year old nephew this year said he wanted "life experiences with family", no material gifts. It was his own idea. Now that is the spirit of xmas.
www.headstonesband.com
Same thing with gift giving. The idea of buying some THING for someone just because you feel obligated is nonsense. Instead, if I do get somebody something it's either something I know they will enjoy and use (usually a book or music) or , preferably, something they can eat, drink or grow (if they like growing plants). We all eat and drink anyway so it's not a waste of resources. Buying crap to fill landfills may help the economy in the short term but eventually it will destroy both the economy and the environment that sustains us. When we throw all that crap away we throw the future away (and recycling crap is just about as bad because it consumes energy and pollutes). If people tell me that's being bah humbug I say, no, quite the opposite. What could be better than sustaining life and sharing food and drink?
And Brian, great to hear it was a good year for book sales. One of my very best presents this Christmas was two books from my 15 year old daughter. She talked to 4 different people, friends and family, to get suggestions on what books she might consider and managed to find two I had not read but are perfect for me. The amount of effort she put into it really touched me.
Giving experiences. What a great concept! I've actually done something like that but never thought of it in those terms. Very nice!
And nice that you got books! How cool that your daughter went to such effort to make it good. One of the most enjoyable gifts I received this year was a copy of Henry Rollins' End to End; Two Thirteen Sixty One Vol. II. Not an easy find but my wife made it happen!
www.headstonesband.com
(and with that I'll say, if I had the money and time, it'd be a blast to surprise people I know and those I don't with fun, personal or extravagant presents. Maybe we all like playing our own version of Santa?)
Was a time I'd send cards, get gifts for various folks...but when that circle grew and began to feel overwhelming, I said fuck it. Now we just give toward a bonus fund for the staff of our building, and a few separate donations to the organizations we admire or support.
Part of why I've grown to love this time of year :-)
Yes. One of the two books was a collection of short stories by one of my favourite authors who unfortunately died too young earlier this year. I have pretty much all his novels - easily more than 15 - but didn't realize there was a collection of short fiction.
Definitely piqued my curiosity- who is this writer?
Another mostly good idea for gift giving is to make a donation in someones name to a charity you believe they would support. I majorly messed up on this once years ago. I had gotten married and didn't know one of my new in laws as well as I'd thought and made a donation in his name to an organization he not only didn't support, but one he actually hated. Oops! The other potential problem is finding an organization that is a good steward of the funds taken in. That can be tricky sometimes.
Iain Banks, a Scottish author who also wrote under the name Iain M. Banks. I first heard about him when I lived in Scotland in the early 1990s. He wrote both literary fiction and SF and many of his novels were set in Scotland, with a fantastic sense of place; reading them back in Canada years later always made me feel I was right back there. A vein of humour runs throughout all of his books, even the more serious ones.
I haven't read Banks- I'll check out some of his work. Bummer - 59, definitely too young :-(
A couple of years ago we instituted the Christmas rule: something they want, something they need, something to wear, something to read. Each of my kids gets 4 gifts (from us or Santa) and it has been very nice. Our kids barely miss the overly elaborate gift giving at Christmas and appreciate what they are given. Now what the grandparents do is another story.....
Seems my preconceptions are what should have been burned...
I AM MINE
I love this! One of the classes I teach examines the idea of being more self-sufficient. It is amazing how many kids (and their families) try to plant their own food/raise their own food here in the urban area that I live. They often feel outside the norm until we start to examine how tenuous our existence is inside the 'grid'. It definitely elicits interesting discussions in terms of being self-sufficient vs. trying to fit in with the current food system/urban system.
Seems my preconceptions are what should have been burned...
I AM MINE
I hope you do decide to check out some of Banks' work, Brian. If you do, don't start with The Wasp Factory. His first novel, it catapulted him onto the British literary scene; it was designed to be shocking, and it is. However, it doesn't represent his work. Some of my favourites are Espedair Street (told from the point of view of the bass guitarist of a fictional rock band that goes from obscurity to super-stardom), The Crow Road, and Whit. On the SF side, Consider Phlebas is probably the one to start with.
that's fantastic!
www.headstonesband.com
I have quite a materialistic family - 3 sisters who love to shop and buy the rest of us adults gifts. One sister and I have had a few arguments about it just this year, and all three of them refuse to see my point of not being interested in making Christmas, Giftmas. To me, it's a children's holiday for receiving gifts, us adults don't need the unnecessary stress of buying the others stuff. But attempting to reason with a greedy family proves unfruitful. I did not - and won't - buy my sisters gifts and told them this months ago. They don't care, it's that love of STUFF and Shopping that trumps the holiday for them. I just choose not to participate, and give the crap they give me away to a needy family. Years ago I bought each one a gift certificate to give to the charity of their choice. And they actually threw the certificates in the garbage. What to do with these people?
Dear god, I thought my sister was bad. That is disgusting!
I just don't even find the point in even celebrating it at all. I mean, I want my kids to grow up normal, and not have to defend their crazy dad who hates xmas to their friends, but at the same time, what the fuck am I really teaching them by participating in this materialistic charade? My wife is catholic, so there's the baby jesus side of things, but let's be real here, 99% of xmas has nothing to do with god for 98% of people, christians included. My wife's family is deeply religious (she has several nun aunts), but besides going to mass xmas eve (which most christians do out of obligation, not joy) that's pretty much it. Then gifts and drink and food.
But how do you stop the xmas machine and still raise normal kids? Lol!
www.headstonesband.com