1. The lecture discusses the concept of the material self and its connection to identity and consumer culture. 2. It describes the components of the material self - the body, clothes, family, and home - and how we derive aspects of our self-concept and identity from our possessions in these areas. 3. It later covers the spiritual self and how religious beliefs, practices, and the search for meaning in life relate to this aspect of personal identity. The lecture provides examples of rituals and beliefs across several major world religions.

1. LECTURE 6: THE MATERIAL SELF: the association of
self to possessions // role of consumer culture to self &
identity
In The Principles of Psy chology, W.James described the
components of self as 1 . Consitituents; 2.Feelings & emotions; 3.
Actions of self-seeking.
Under Consitutents, the self is composed of the materialself, the
social self, thespiritual self,and the pureego.
We are living in the world of sale and shopping spree.Almost
ev erywhere,including the digitalspace,wefind promotions of
product purchase.
Product advertisements are suggestiveof making us feel better or
look good. What makes us want tohave those products are
connected with whowe are.
What wewant tohave and already possess are related toour self.
“We regard our possessions as parts of ourselves. We are what we
have and what we possess.” – Belk,1988.
Our wanting tohave and possess has a connection with another
aspect of the self, the material self.
MATERIALSELF – primarily about our bodies, clothes,
immediate family,and home.We aredeeply affectiveby these
things because weput somuch investment of our self tothem.
BODY - The innermost part of our materialself. We are directly
attached toit and we can’t live without it.We strive hard tomake
sure that this body functions well and good. We alsohave
preferentialattachment tocertain parts because of its v alue tous.
CLOTHES – “any time we bring an object intothe surface of our
body , we invest that object intothe consciousness of our personal
existence and make it a part of us” (Watson,2014).Our clothes
affect our attitude and behavior.It is a form of self-expression. We
wear clothes that reflect us.
FAMILY –our parent and siblings hold an important of our self.
What they door become affects us.When an immediate family
member dies, a part of us dies too. When their lives are in success,
we feel their victories as well.In their failures,we arealsoput to
shame.We thinkof our family as a replica of our self.
HOME – it is our earliest nest of selfhood. Our experiences in life
are sometimes recorded and markedin our home.The home is an
extension of our self, we directly connect ourselves toit.
“We regard our possessions as part of ourselves.We arewhat we
have and what we possess” – Belk, 1988
The identification of the self tothings started in our infancy stage.
As we grow older, putting importance on our materialpossessions
decreases.We v alue morethings likehappiness,significant
ev ents,accomplishments,and people in our lives.
CONCLUSION: the possessions that we dearly havetellsomething
about whowe are,our self-concept,our past,and even our future.
LECTURE 7: THE SPIRITUAL SELF: religious practices
and beliefs, finding the meaning of life
SPIRITUALSELF – is the most intimate,inner subjectivepart
of the self. It connects tothesatisfaction of having an ability to
argue and discriminate, of one’s moralsensibility and conscience.
The ability touse oralsensibility and conscience may be seen
through theexpressions of religion, its beliefs and practices.
Cultural rituals are alsomanifestations of what people believe in.
Seeking themeaning of life is a journey that thespiritual self is on.
RELIGION – a set of cultural beliefs and practices that usually
include:
- a belief in anthromorphicsupernatural being;such as
spirit/gods
- a focus on sacred supernatural,with a feeling of reverence and
awe
- presence of supernatural energy that is found on supernatural as
well as physicalbeings and objects
- performance of ritualactivities
- articulation of worldview and moralcodes through
narratives/’stories
- prov ide creation of social bonds and social control within a
community
RITUAL – the performance of ceremonialacts prescribed by
tradition or sacred law. A specific,observablemode of behavior
exhibitedby societies. It is possible tov iew it as a way of
defining/describing humans.
3 fundamentalcharacteristics of rituals:
1 . A feeling of respect,awe,admiration, in relation tothe sacred
2. Dependenceupon a belief system expressed through myth
3. Symbolic in relation toits reference
SOME WORLD RELIGIOUS BELIEFS AND PRACTICES
Buddhism
Beliefs – Buddhism believes that life is not a bed of roses. There
are suffering,pain,frustrations.When people suffer,they want to
experience the goodness of life and avoid disappointments.This
can be resolved by practice of meditation , acquiring wisdom,and
deeper understanding and acceptance of things as they are.
Buddhists alsobelieve in the non-violenceprinciple.And the
acquiring of wisdom through the reflection of Dharma.
Customs & Practices – twotypes of meditation practices:
samatha: mindfulness of breathing and development of lov ing-
kindness
vipassana: aims at developing insight intoreality.
Christianity
Beliefs – Christians believe in the holy trinity: God the Father,
God the Son, God the Holy Spirit.Eternal life after death will be
achievedthrough faith in Jesus Christ, God theSon, whocame
intoflesh tospread theGood News. He died on the Cross for the
sins of humanity.
Customs and Practices – Sacrament of Baptism andCommunion
are practiced by Christian churches.Baptism symbolizes birth in
Christian World, while Communion is an act of remembrance of
Christ’s love.Christmas and Resurrection aretwomajor
celebrations in Christianity.
Hinduism
Beliefs – Hinduism covers a wide range of traditionalbeliefs and
religious groups,sothere is nosingle founder or leader.Hindus
believe that existence is a cycle of birth,death and rebirth,
gov erned by Karma. It is a concept wherethe reincarnated lifewill
depend on how the past life was spent.Vedas are sacredscriptures
of Hindus.
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2. Customs and Practices – Diwali is the festivalof lights while
Navrati is the festivalof nine nights,which celebrate the triumph
of good ov er evil.
Islam
Beliefs – Muslims believe in Allah, their “OneGod”. They believe
in the unity and universality of God. Muslims have a strong sense
of community.Islam means “willing submission toGod” The Holy
Book of Islam is called the Quran.
Customs and Practices – Muslims believe in the 5 pillars of Islam:
1. Shahadah – “There is noGod but the one true God and
Mohammedis his messenger. 2. Salat – the prayer that is
practiced 5 times a day,
3. Zakat – monetary offering for the poor. 2.5% of Muslim’s
assets.
4. Hajj – y early pilgrimage toMecca. 5. Sawm– fasting during
Ramadan
Judaism
Beliefs – the Jews believe in the God of Abraham,the God that
liberated slaves from Egypt toCanaan,the promised Land.Jews
believe in thecoming of Messiah,the Savior.Their sacred
scripture is called Torah.
Customs and Practices – five major festivals observed by Jews:
1 . Rosh Hashanah : the New Year 2. Yom Kippur : Day of
Atonement
3. Pesach : Passover 4.Shavuot : Pentecost 5. Sukkot :
Tabernacles.The Jewish Sabbath begins on Friday evening at
sunset and is an important time when families gather for the
Sabbath meal.
CONCLUSION:Religions,rituals,etc.areallpart of expressing the
spiritual self.How tomanifest the belief is dependent on the
person.