Materialism and Dualism - Report Example

Materialism and Dualism Materialism and Dualism Materialism and Dualism Materialism is the ‘value that a consumer places on material possessions andis a broad construct that includes personality traits such as envy, lack of generosity, and possessiveness’ (Belk, 1985). Dualism on the other hand believes in a psychic or spiritual reality beyond the physical. What is materialism Materialism is defined as “devotion to material needs and desires, to the neglect of spiritual matters; a way of life, opinion, or tendency based entirely upon material interests” in the Oxford English Dictionary. It has been said to be an emphasis on the lower order needs for material comfort and physical safety when compared to higher order needs like self expression and quality of life and as a contrast to post materialism. (Inglehart, 2000). Some researchers consider materialism as “a value that guides people’s choices and conduct in a variety of situations, including, but not limited to, consumption arenas” (Richins and Dawson, 1992, 307). Materialism therefore generally refers to the placing of a relatively high value on wealth and material goods. The journey of materialism Classical materialism is believed to have been recognized in Greek philosophy around the 6th century B.C. and in India and China at an even earlier period. Greek philosophers Leucippus and Democrites, Socrates, Aristotle and Plato all had something to say about materialism. Christianity brought the concept of the spirit or supernatural into the subject. Rene Descartes, the Father of Modern Philosophy, proposed the Cartesian Dualism, which spoke about an irreconcilable dualism of mind and body in the 17th century. Materialism was brought back by Thomas Hobbes and it flourished during the 18th to the 20th centuries with advances in chemistry, physics and mechanics. Charles Darwin furthered the materialistic view through his works which explained the evolution of every living thing on earth without any need for a Supernatural power to do things. The New Materialism New insights have changed the interpretation of consciousness in terms of quantum physics, artificial intelligence and cognitive science. Consciousness theorists are presenting sophisticated materialistic explanations not found in analytical philosophy. The physical emergence of consciousness is well explained. Theories suggested Sirgy suggested that materialists set an abnormally high and unrealistic goal for standards of living which they could never achieve leading to a general dissatisfaction (1998). Organismic theories have been suggested for explaining the inverse relationship between materialism and quality of life. Researchers have said that those who believe in intrinsic goals without expecting external rewards or approval are able to reach a valuable and satisfactory quality of life. Those who believe that extrinsic goals like external rewards and approval tend to lower their well being and have greater distress in the long run ( Roberts and Clement, 80). Other researchers believed that extrinsic goals like financial success, social recognition, and an appealing appearance was negatively related to a good quality of life which resulted in poor adjustment, poor mental health and distress. The intrinsic goals of affiliation, community feeling, physical fitness, and self-acceptance were more valuable and extremely satisfying. Another research found that chasing financial goals specifically lowered positive effect (Solberg, Diener, and Robinson, 2004). Materialistic values are not good coping strategies in long term considerations just like drinking and sex in short term strategies (Kasser, 2002). Ambiguity in Theory Conflicting ideas exist on the subject. Though much value is placed on materialistic values, society places stress on family cohesion, communities and religion which are the collective –oriented values (Burroughs and Rindfleisch, 2002). Theorists are seen to project opposing views on materialism. Those who work from an evolutionary aspect suggest that conspicuous consumption and the wish to acquire new technologies and gadgets are universally observed in almost all human beings who have the aim of boosting wealth, status and resourcefulness to become ‘one to rub shoulders with’ (Zahavi, 1975). Human beings nurse the tendency to advertise themselves through conspicuous consumption (Van Kempen, 2003). Many psychological approaches counsel against the striving for materialism (Polak and McCullough, 2006, 344). Material possessions are necessary for basic physical needs but the focus on possessions and wealth affects the passage to happiness and fulfillment (Kasser, 2002). Materialism can produce psychological tension causing an obstacle to well-being (Burroughs and Rindfleisch, 2002). Materialism and Insecurity When people are unable to have many of their set basic psychological requirements like ‘safety, competence, connectedness, and autonomy’, the problem of insecurity moves in (Kasser et al, 2004). The psychological insecurity and the efforts to cope with the insecurity both can be termed materialistic (Kasser and Sheldon, 2000). The coping mechanism worsens the feeling of insecurity. People tended to more materialism if possessing the experiences of chronic self doubt or having a chronic anomie but convinced about the lack of norms or regulations (Chang and Arkin, 2002). Parenting styles that cause dissatisfaction in children could lead to materialism being the path that they opt for (Kasser et al, 2004). Children coming from homes with broken marriages crave for materialism and showed high levels of consumer consumption (Rindfleisch et al, 1997). The desire to own and experience causes the young to indulge in behavior that could harm him in the long run (O’Guinn and Faber, 1989, p. 147). Economic deprivation in childhood causes insecurity again leading to materialism. People living in poor socio-economic conditions or in poor countries had the tendency to over come their insecurity through materialism (Polak and McCullough, 2006, 346). Materialism and satisfaction in life The western world and the US are criticized for being materialistic and for believing that happiness is achieved through consumption (Roberts and Clement, 79). Materialism is believed to have affected individuals and society alike. Self esteem, well being, quality of life and general satisfaction are considered inversely proportional to materialism while materialism is positively correlated to physical and psychological difficulties. The ill effects of materialism are evident in the environment with lesser community involvement, lesser charitable donations and minimal quality family time (Solberg, Diener, and Robinson, 2004). Materialism and ecology Materialistic adults are believed to behave in ecologically degrading manners. They happen to consume more in resources management (Sheldon & McGregor, 2000), and live lifestyles which leave higher ‘ecological footprints’ (Brown & Kasser, 2003). Frugal adults restrain their use of resources and live with what they have (Lastovicka et al., 1999). Solutions ? Theorists are now working towards finding psychological processes to counter the striving for materialism. The emotion of gratitude has been elaborated as a positive emotion which has the ability to change social cognition, motivation and relationships in ways that lessen materialistic striving and their ill effects on well being ((Polak and McCullough, 2006, 344). Dualism Dualism has been propagated by Descartes who has given reasons for this. It meant that the mind and body are distinct entities (Lee, 51). Descartes believes that bodies are not as essential to existence as is minds. Mind is non special and substance free while the matter or body is space occupying. The mind is not subject to the laws of physics and has the property of immortality while the body is subject to the laws of physics and is finite (Lee, 51). Psychoparallelism is ascribed to the simultaneous occurrence of mental and physical events but having no causal interactions. Epiphenomenalism is when physical states cause mental states but the mental states have no causal effects. Cartesian dualism says that mental states and physical states have a causal relationship to each other. It is also known as ‘psychophysical causal interaction” (Lee, 51). Dualistic concepts are strong in certain disciplines. The attributes of thinking and extension are distinct but incompatible properties. So whatever thinks does not extend and whatever extends does not think. Descartes believes that bodies can be divided but minds cannot. Sensory perceptions are believed to be of ‘external and internal senses, imagining, doubting, understanding, affirming, denying, willing are examples of conscious phenomena’ (Lahteenmaki, 178). A soul is considered a rational soul by Descartes. Functions of organisms can be referred to as vegetative and sensitive souls based only on mechanical principles. Rational souls include passive sensations also. Animals do not have souls and so have no thought or consciousness. They have no feelings or sensory perceptions. He believed that infant thought is also different from adult thoughts in that infants have direct thoughts but do not have reflex ones (Lahteenmaki, 187). Lahteenmaki would prefer to consider this under the heading of ‘rudimentary consciousness’ (182). Human beings are capable of reflection and judgment (Gaukroger, 1995, 351). Consciousness is always given to itself or reveals itself to itself. It can be considered as reflexive. Descartes believes that a thought with a content is an ‘astonishing machine’ (Lahteenmaki, 181). This involves the perception of the machine and intellectual perception. He says that both form a unified experience and are indistinguishable. Lahteenmaki wishes to classify this under reflexive consciousness (182). This is seen in acts of will as they always involve understanding (Lahteenmaki, 194). Deliberate, attentive, personal-level reflection leads to the third type of Cartesian consciousness (Lahteenmaki, 182). Thiel says that consciousness results from a person’s consideration of his own thoughts. The act of reflection is clearly distinct from the thought by her. Robert McRae distinguishes between thought, consciousness and reflection. Many philosophists have attributed a divine agency for the mind body interaction in Cartesian dualism (Lee, 51). Dualism has yet to be unveiled by research. The Theory of Mind and Cognitive Science The computational theory of mind says that the mind is a ‘digital computer’ and the thought a ‘computation’ and was proposed by Hilary Putnam in 1961. Cognition is the process of knowing, perceiving or conceiving. The theory of the mind constitutes reasoning and mental states. (SEP, 2005) and the mind is an information processing system. Theorists of evolutionary cognitive psychology say that inputs from the natural world produces outputs in the form of mental or physical states. The theory can be seen as a compatibility proof. The compatibility of intentional realism is explained as a ‘commitment to the reality of the semantic properties of mental states, and to the causal roles of mental states in the determination of behavior’ (SEP, 2005). This is understood as saying that mental propcesses are all causal processes. The semantic processes are tracked by syntactic properties (Haugeland, 1981). Chomsky in 1959 suggested that the processes of reasoning, language, and perception are due to the computational theory of mind. Features of linguistic competence and thought occurred due to systematicity and productivity of the mind. David Marr’s theory of vision (1982) described 3 levels. The computational level at the brain which provides the three dimensional picture and the basic visual inputs at the retina dependent on the neurochemical properties underlying phototransduction in retinal cells (SEP, 2005). This constituted the implementation at the hardware system. There was an intermediate algorithmic level. Marr’s approach was related to the computational theory. Some critics argue that not all processes are computable. This researcher believes that dualism is a possible theory in the world where the supernatural is yet to be understood. It may not be right to throw away a theory which has not fully eveolved. References Belk, R.W. (1985). “Materialism: Trait aspects of living in the material world”. Journal of Consumer Research 12, pp. 265–280. Brown, K. W., & Kasser, T. (2003). Values, happiness, and ecological behavior. Unpublished manuscript, University of Rochester. Burroughs, J.E. and A. Rindfleisch. (2002) “Materialism and well-being: A conflicting values perspective”. Journal of Consumer Research 29, pp. 348–370. Chang, L.C. and R. Arkin. 2002, Materialism as an attempt to cope with uncertainty Psychology and Marketing 19, pp. 389–406. Gaukroger, Stephen. Descartes: An Intellectual Biography (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1995). 288 Haugeland, John, ed. 1981. Mind Design. 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