THE MATERIAL/ ECONOMIC SELF

I shop, therefore I am:

I have, therefore I am?

Initiated by Barbara Kruger

A person is defined not by what they think, but what they own (through shopping)
Shopping is an expressive and constitutive existential act (Kruger) Understanding shopping is important in determining
race, culture, gender, class, family, and community (Belk, 2016)

William James
Material self is primarily about our bodies, clothes, immediate family, and home; it is one of the components of the self,
along with the social self, and spiritual self, and the pure ego.
BODY - innermost part of our material self; intentionally, we are investing in our body as we cannot live without it
CLOTHES- according to Herman Lotze in his Philosophy of Dress, "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 our self"
IMMEDIATE FAMILY - what our parents do or become affect us
HOME - the earliest nest of our selfhood

Consumer Culture
a study of consumption choices and behaviors from social and cultural point of view as opposed to an economic or
psychological one

Consumer Culture Theory

addresses the dynamic relationships between consumer actions, the market place and cultural meanings
a consumer culture is focused on the buying and selling of goods
THE SPIRITUAL SELF

The Practice of Religion:

Belief in Supernatural Being and Power

Religion
refers to beliefs and behaviors related to supernatural beings and powers.

Supernatural forces range from impersonal spirits to gods and can be all powerful or annoying creatures that
possess humans.

Animism is the belief that nature has soul

Animatism does not have a personality - it is an impersonal "it" rather than "he" or "she" while animism can
have gender and/or personality characteristics similar to people.

Ancestral spirits
Are souls or spirits of dead relatives freed from their body at death who maintain an interest in living

Gods and goddesses

Are all powerful and remote beings who control the universe and are often associated with particular aspects of
the world when there is more than one.

The Concept of "Dungan"

- Spirit or Soul
"Dungan" is an indigenous Filipino term which refers to the soul or spirit.
o Among the Ilonggos, "dungan" refers to the spirit or soul when one is alive; if the person is dead, the spirit is no longer
termed "dungan" instead it is called "kalag"

Other terms used among different Filipino groups are the following:
Kaluluwa by the Tagalog
Gimokud by the Bagobos
Makatu by the Bukidnons
Kadkadwa by the Ilokanos - the term impliethat it is inside the physical body
Religion, Magic, and Witchcraft
Religion is an organized system of ideas about the spiritual sphere, along with ceremonial practices
Magic are illusions.
Witchcraft is an explanation of events based on the belief that certain individuals possess an innate psychic
power capable of causing harm, including sickness and death.

Conclusion:
Religion, magic and even witchcraft serve the same functions of trying to explain the unexplainable behavior and
providing comfort and a coherent view of the world.

The right word

“PANANAMPALATAYA”- “Faith”
In Miranda’s analysis (1987)

- “pananam” in “pananampalataya” may refer to “lasa” or taste.

- “taya” refers to a type of game of chance (“sugal”) that when affixed
with “pala” means someone who is repeatedly engaged in it.
- According to Salazar (2016), the root word of “pananampalataya” is “sampalataya” with prefix “pan.”
- “Sampalataya” comes from Sanskrit "sampratyaya" that means "conviction," "right concepcion, "perfect trust or
faith or belief.“
- In Tagalog, it now means "faith or belief in someone;" "act of worship in God" and "adoration." A definition that
can already be found in Serrano Y Laktaw (1917).

“Utang na loob” in response to God’s

“Kagandahang- loob” (kindness)

3 STAGES OF TRANSITION & TRANSFORMATION

ENDING – Saying goodbye to beliefs held from childhood
NEUTRAL ZONE – conflicted internally from the abandonment of one’s self to embracing a new one. From the old “ako”
(I/me) to the new “ako” (I/me). One reason why a teenager undergoes crisis is that sometimes he/she is not aware that
he/she is undergoing a kind of spiritual awakening. There is sometimes full of hate, boredom, rebellion and sadness
NEW BEGINNING- Through trustworthy friends, an individual discovers not only himself/herself but also God who may
be trusted and may serve as companion throughout life.
Logotherapy
proposes that "man's primary motivational force is search for meaning“- Viktor E. Frankl
o Logotherapy uses the philosophy of optimism in the face of tragedy, where people are capable of "turning suffering
into human achievement and accomplishment; deriving from guilt the opportunity to change oneself for the better, and
deriving from life's transitoriness an incentive to take responsibleaction."

Three Ways of Discovering

Meaning in Life:

1.by doing a deed

2.by experiencing a value
3.by suffering

Logo therapy assumptions:

1. The human being is an entity consisting of body, mind, and spirit

2. Life has meaning under all circumstances, even the most miserable
3. People have a will to meaning
4. People have freedom under all circumstances to activate the will to find meaning
5. Life has a demand quality to which people must respond if decisions are to be meaningful
6. The individual is unique

FrankL's Sources of Meaning:

Purposeful work
COURAGE IN THE FACE OF DIFFICULTY
LOVE
THE POLITICAL SELF

Political Self

-ordered, subjective realm of politics

-includes values, cognitions, perceptions, attitudes and behavioral dispositions

-individual members interpret political institutions and processes, and their own relationship with such
institutions and processes

3 Broad Categories of Orientations:

1. Political Attachments and Loyalties - directed towards the nation or its significant political symbols.

2. Various forms of specific knowledge, feelings, and beliefs about political institutions

3. Specific political policies, issues, programs, personalities, and events

Developing a Filipino Identity

1. Individual factors
-include one's attitudes and values
-common Filipino values and traits include hospitality, respect for elders,
-close family ties, cheerful personality, adaptability and resilience, self-sacrifice, resourcefulness and creativity, faith and
religiosity, bayanihan spirit, "bahala na" attitude, colonial mentality, manana habit, ningas kugon, pride, crab mentality,
and Filipino time
-here is the presence of dualism which highlights the contradiction between self-interest and the good of the community

-attitudes change due to events that sweep the nation and due to involvement in service-oriented activities
Developing a Filipino Identity
2. Institutional factors
• School
• Family
• Media
• Church
• Government
• Non-government and People’s Organization

Developing a Filipino Identity

3. Community factors
The degree (or lack) of identification with the nation depends, among others, on the type of community to which one
belongs and the extent to which it is served by, or benefits from, instruments of the state
-Religion (“Filipino” connotes “Christian”)
-Language (i.e., use of English) as the privileged medium of official and private transactions -Absence or presence of
social requisites for the exercise of citizenship and democracy

Establishing a Democratic Culture

- Democratic culture is about individual liberty as well as collective self-governance
- The Philippines is a democratic country; people of the state have freedom and rights to express their desire
- The Philippines is a democratic country; people of the state have freedom and rights to express their desire
- Economic rights and social responsibility gives us the right to vote, privileges to all we have worked for

Examples of ways on how to be a good Filipino:

o Be an active Filipino citizen
o Study the Philippine history
o Support local products
o Speak the Filipino language
o Do not spread fake news and be democratic in engaging with dissent