Understanding the Self, Slides of Philosophy

Download Understanding the Self and more Slides Philosophy in PDF only on Docsity! THE MATERIAL/ECONOMIC | SELF WHAT IS MATERIAL/ECONOMIC SELF? According to William James, the material self is a total of all the tangible things you own. Your body Your possessions Your home TWO SUBCLASSES OF THE MATERIAL/ECONOMIC SELF 1. The bodily self 2. The extracorporeal (beyond the body)  The bodily component of the material self requires little explanation. A person speaks of my arms or my legs. These entities are clearly an intimate part of who we are. But our sense of self is not limited to our bodies. It includes other people (my children), pets (my dog), possessions (my car), places (my home town), and the products of our labors (my painting).  It is not the physical entities themselves, however, that comprise the material self. Rather, it is our psychological ownership of them (Scheibe, 1985). For example, a person may have a favorite chair she likes to sit in. The chair itself is not part of the self. Instead, it is the sense of appropriation represented by the phrase “my favorite chair.” This is what we mean when we talk about the extended self. It includes all of the people, places, and things that we regard as “ours.” FUNDAMENTAL PROBLEM SCARCITY: unlimited wants and needs but limited resources