Materialism from a Symbolic Interactionist Perspective
Some sociologists may center on the family tackling issues, for example, marriage, domestic violence divorce and child rearing. In addition, the sociologists may also try to get knowledge of how different cultures define these issues, and their effect on individuals and institutions. Other sociologists may explore larger social organizations such as businesses and governments analyzing their formations. In addition, other sociologists may focus on divisions within a society. From such a definition, a sociologist may study anything.

Application of Theory

Symbolic interactions comments that the society is in a continuous process of production and reproduction through the individual's interaction with the symbolic representations of the surrounding society. However, materialism raises a controversy on whether it is a positive or negative force in society. Puritanism discourages materialism consumption citing it as the major cause of distraction of society from the spiritual ways. Quakerism condemned the acquisition and multiplication…...

mla

References

Solomon, M.R. (1983). The role of products as social stimuli: a symbolic interactionism perspective. Journal of Consumer research, 319-329.

Saunders, A.S., Allen, M.W., & Pozzebon, K. (2008). An Exploratory Look at the Relationship

Between Materialistic Values and Goals and Type A Behavior. Journal of Pacific Rim Psychology, 2(2), 47-52.

Flouri, E. (1999). An integrated model of consumer materialism: Can economic socialization

Materialism: Appreciating the Real Worth of Material Objects
Of all the material items I possess, the object which I value the most is undeniably my cell phone. It is my constant companion. It is the first thing I use in the morning to check my email and Facebook page and it is the last thing I turn off at night. With my cell phone, I can contact my friends and family. I can ask for help when faced with an emergency. I can take pictures with it; surf the Internet for information; I can even shop and get directions from my phone. A close 'second' would be my iPod. My entire musical life is contained within this small device: the songs that inspire me; conjure up great memories; get me 'revved up' to work out. It also gives me the ability to discover new songs and instantly download songs I have…...

After the sacrifice, he gave her nothing. The true question is if Torvald would have ever done anything so selfless for Nora. e are left to believe that he would not because she was nothing more to him than a plaything and those can replaced when they break, give out, or leave. The only problem with Nora's love, other than the fact that it might have been immature, was that it was directed at a stranger, which she so eloquently points out. Torvald loves things and this is unlikely to change. Nora realizes this as she decides to walk away.
Materialism motivates much of the action in A Doll's House. It is safe to say that materialism is what both partners in the marriage share and it is what holds their marriage together. hen Nora rejects Torvald, she is actually rejecting the entire notion of materialism. Nora's development throughout the…...

mla

Works Cited

Goonetilleke, D. "A Doll's House: Overview." Literature Resource Center. Gale. Harford Community College. 14 Nov. 2009.

Ibsen, Henrik. A Doll's House. A Doll's House. Three Plays by Ibsen. New York: Dell

Publishing Company, Inc. 1963.

Marx cries out that in Capitalism, "That culture... is, for the enormous majority, a mere training to act as a machine." It is this exploitation which persists today and which is far worse than the mere depression of living standards. Capitalism is intrinsically linked with consumerism, and both replace a sacred connection to one's vocation and one's art with a profane connection to one's paycheck and the throw-away products of factories and disconnected drone-workers. Materialism, itself, is the ultimate child of capitalism -- for only in a capitalistic society in which man was disconnected from the land and from the honor and joy of creation would any sane person suggest that wealth and finances were the most important aspects of life. Materialism as a flawed value is what created capitalism, and materialism as a philosophy of comprehending the world is necessary to comprehend its workings for it is, to…...

mla

Bibliography

Marx, Karl. "The Communist Manifesto." [electronic archive, no page numbers]  http://www.indepthinfo.com/communist-manifesto/manifest.txt

Karl Marx Historical Materialism.
Marx's materialist theory of history

Marx's theory of history is called 'historical materialism' because of his belief that economics (material goods) determine how history evolves, not ideology, personality, or other popular theories of the 19th century when he wrote. "Most struggles in history are class struggles, even though the participants profess other goals. For example, Protestantism reflects the rising capitalist class" (McCarthy 1995). Marx wrote that history evolves as a series of class struggles between the haves and the have-nots. In his own era, the 'haves' were the bourgeois while the 'have-nots' were the proletariat, or the factory workers. The proletariat lived in a continual state of exploitation by the bourgeois. The bourgeois did not work but rather only owned the means of production. The proletariat slaved away, but did not own the fruits of their labor. They merely rented their labor to the factory owners for most…...

mla

Works Cited

"Lecture notes: Marx's historical materialism." Philosophy 166.

http://philosophyfaculty.ucsd.edu/faculty/rarneson/courses/166MarxonHistorySummary.pdf

McCarthy, John. "Marxism." Ideology. Stanford University. 1995.

[26 Apr 2013]http://www-formal.stanford.edu/jmc/progress/marxism.htm

Marx and Historical Materialism
Karl Marx rejected the philosophical Idealism of Hegel and the utopianism of the early socialists in favor of a theory of history thoroughly grounded in materialism. For Marx, ideas, cultures, political systems were all part of the superstructure of society while economics and the social relations of classes represented the base that truly drove history forward. Economic forces were the motor of history, not ideas, philosophies or ideologies, much less spiritual or supernatural forces. Capitalism had already broken up the old feudal order in estern Europe, and the Protestant Reformation, the great peasant rebellions, the English, French and American Revolutions were all signs indicating that a new capitalist political economy was coming into being, and that the bourgeoisie was seizing political power from the landed aristocracy. Capitalism was destroying the old culture of honor, chivalry and paternalism, replacing it with bourgeois values of free trade, the cash…...

mla

WORKS CITED

Burawoy, Michael. "For a Sociological Marxism: The Complementary Convergence of Antonio Gramsci and Karl Polayni." Politics and Society, Vol. 31, No. 12, June 2003: 193-261.

Gilpin, Robert. The Political Economy of International Relations. Princeton University Press, 1987.

Marx, Karl and Friedrich Engels. The Communist Manifesto. Filiquarium Publishers, 2005.

Marx posits that a social revolution shall become the people's response to this class conflict, wherein a new system of society (dominated by the proletariat) will emerge (Lusteck, 2001).
In the context of anthropology, Marxist theory is best applied in studying the culture of the modern, capitalist society. Anthropology seeks to identify social classes that emerge within the capitalist system and determine how these classes interact with each other. Furthermore, identifying and understanding the culture of each class is also essential to identify, in order for social scientists to learn how conflict emerges what characteristics of each class's culture ultimately determines who will be the oppressor and the oppressed. The dialectic relationship between these two general classes that Marx identifies in his theory is the most distinct feature studied in Marxist anthropology.

Deriving from Marx's technique of historical materialism, the paradigm of American materialism in anthropology looks distinctly into the principles…...

mla

Works Cited

Lusteck, R. (2001). "Marxist anthropology." Available at  http://www.as.ua.edu/ant/Faculty/murphy/marxism.htm .

Smith, K. (2001). "American materialism." Available at  http://www.as.ua.edu/ant/Faculty/murphy/material.htm .

Faxed material. (Chapter 4).

Of course Marx and Russell are radically different on certain aspects of materialism in the physical world. Indeed, Russell spent volumes on taking issue with various aspects of Marx's dialectical materialism (Ironside, 1996, p. 26). Russell comes from the perspective of Fabian Socialism where change can be gradual. Marx is a complete revolutionary who believes that change can only come from a violent overthrow of the present order. For Russell,
Such phenomenon under closer scrutiny are filled with very many contradictions. The quest for certainty has to come from present experiences where doubts and personal experiences and those of others that leads directly to the philosophical problem of the real and the unreal. The quest is to know what objects are, and what they seam to be.

hat exists for them is the material world. To concentrate on metaphysics is a waste of time. Indeed, we material beings have very little…...

mla

Works Cited:

Huitt, William G. Piaget Theory of Cognitive Development. Retrieved from  http://www.edpsycinteractive.org/topics/cogsys/piaget.html .

Ironside, Philip. (1996). The social and political thought of bertrand russell: the development of an aristocratic liberalism (ideas in context) . Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press.

Great Gatsby
The Negative Side Of Materialism In The Great Gatsby

The Lure of the American Dream

The American Dream is the promise of a better life that brought people from all over the world to the newly discovered continent so that they could populate it and contribute to the development of the land and of their personal lives too. The concept of the American Dream still continues to attract immigrants from countries in Europe, Asia and Africa including North and South America even after more than 400 years. However, the interpretation of the American Dream has changed over the centuries and many people have come to the country with their own expectations of well-being and success. During the early days of settlement, immigrants from Europe were welcomed to create a new life for themselves and for their families. They were attracted by the promise of getting land on which to farm and…...

mla

Works Cited

Callahan, John F. " F. Scott Fitzgerald's Evolving American Dream: The "Pursuit of Happiness" in Gatsby, Tender Is the Night, and the Last Tycoon." Twentieth Century Literature 42.3 (1996): 374-395. Print.

Fitzgerald, Francis S. The Great Gatsby. [online] Accessed on 27 may 2012 from  http://www.planetebook.com/ebooks/The-Great-Gatsby.pdf 

Roberts, Marilyn. "Scarface, the Great Gatsby and the American Dream." Literature/Film Quarterly 34.1 (2006): 71-78. Print.

Searles, Susan. "Fitzgerald's the Great Gatsby." The Explicator 50.1 (1991): 47. Print.

MIND THEOY: NAGEL VS. DENNETT
Dualism vs. Materialism

The theory of mind is probably one of the most challenging areas of philosophy, psychology, and neuroscience we will ever have to face, because it involves, depending on the approach or view taken, thinking about or quantifying the process of thinking. Neither introspection nor neuroscience has provided definitive answers to what the mind is, although this remains an active area of debate and research.

Dennett's view of mind theory will probably have more in common with the future direction of neuroscience research and therefore be more relevant and testable.

Dualism vs. Materialism

Generally speaking, philosophers can be grouped into dualists and materialists. Dualists believe the mind is an entity separate from our physical nature and even though it is still currently impossible to measure the mind using scientific instruments, this limitation doesn't mean the mind doesn't exist (reviewed by amsey, 2007, Section 3). Materialists, or eliminativists, argue…...

mla

References

Allen, Colin. (2010). Animal Consciousness. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Retrieved October 9, 2011 from  http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/consciousness-animal/ 

Clark, Andy. (2002). Minds, brains, and tools. In H. Clapin (Ed.), Philosophy of Mental Representation (pp. 66-90). Oxford: Clarendon Press.

Ramsey, William. (2007). Eliminative Materialism. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Retrieved October 9, 2011 from  http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/materialism-eliminative/

dumpster diving provides insight into the life of the dumpster diver, generally in a state of homelessness and living off of the discarded goods of others. Eighner seeks, through his piece, to not only explain the lifestyle that he lived for many years, but also to offer some commentary about the wastefulness of American culture. There are a few different conclusions that a reader can draw from his essay, and these will be outlined here.
Waste as a Way of Life

Perhaps the simplest way of expressing Eighner's point is that there is enough waste in American society that a person can live with a reasonable level of comfort and security on the discards of others. Eighner describes being able to routinely acquire food by scavenging garbage bins outside of restaurants and food stores. The waste is often perfectly good -- he describes conditions under which a pizza restaurant might produce…...

Based upon these results, Kasser posed the question as to what other values advanced by capitalist society were linked low levels of mental and physical health, such as maintaining a strong social image. He tested the links between aspirations to financial success, the need for social esteem, and image-related concerns in his next study. Social image was measured by ranking such statements high as: "Your name will be known by many people; You will be famous; You will be admired by many people." Valuing an 'appealing' appearance involved agreeing with statements about having an attractive image and successfully hiding the effects of aging as important values. In this second round of surveys, extrinsic drivers such as money, fame, and materialism all seemed to be linked as a 'cluster' of aspirations found in persons who also ranked high in anxiety and depression and low in vitality and levels of self-actualization.

hen Kasser…...

mla

Works Cited

Activism. Tim Kasser Website. April 4, 2010.  http://faculty.knox.edu/tkasser/activism.html 

Aspiration Index. Tim Kasser Website. April 4, 2010.

 http://faculty.knox.edu/tkasser/aspirations.html

Sunset Boulevard is a classic film noir produced in 1950 and directed by Billy Wilder. The film begins with the murder of Joe Gillis, a floundering screenwriter who ends up dead in a swimming pool. "Poor dope," the voice over says. "He'd always wanted a pool. Well, in the end he got himself a pool, only the price turned out to be a little high." The voice over, delivered in classic film noir style, turns out to be none other than Gillis himself. Far from being an unreliable narrator, though, Gillis promises "the facts" and delivers. The entire film Sunset Boulevard is the retelling of "the facts" from Gillis's perspective. Wilder's choice of narration is dutifully ironic, as a failed filmmaker becomes famous. The theme of the movie is reminiscent of the Great Gatsby, with its peek at American decadence and lost dreams. Because it offers rich social commentary, Sunset…...

mla

References

Armstrong, R. (2000). Billy Wilder: American Film Realist. NC: McFarland & Co.

Gibson, A. (2001). And the Wind Wheezing Through That Organ Once in a While": Voice, Narrative, Film. Retrieved online:  http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/nlh/summary/v032/32.3gibson01.html 

Smoodin, E. (1983). The image and the voice in the film with spoken narration. Quarterly Review of Film Studies 8(4): 19-32.

Wilder, B. (1950). Sunset Boulevard. Feature film.

Mind:
A theory of mind is basically described as the particular cognitive ability to understand other people as deliberate agents, which imply that it's the ability to interpret people's minds based on theoretical concepts of planned states like desires and beliefs. In philosophy, there is a common notion that the special cognitive ability in intrinsically dependent on individuals linguistic capabilities. The interpretation of the actions and intentions of other people includes a combined credit of complete mental states that enable the understanding of the social world to become logical and intelligible. There are various major theories of mind that focus on explaining the human mind including the identity theory, functionalism, and eliminative materialism.

The identity theory of mind states that the conditions and processes of the human mind are similar to the conditions and processes of the brain (Smart par, 1). Under this theory, identifying mind and brain can be regarded…...

mla

Works Cited:

Carnie, Euan F. "Approaches to Action." UCB Library. The University of British Columbia, Jan. 1993. Web. 20 Mar. 2012. .

Churchland, Paul. "Eliminative Materialism." UC San Diego Department of Philosophy. University of California. Web. 20 Mar. 2012. .

"Functionalism." Philosophy of Mind. Philosophy Online. Web. 20 Mar. 2012. .

"Intro Mind Notes, Weeks 5-6: Consciousness and Materialism." College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences. The University of Houston. Web. 20 Mar. 2012. .

Moral Criticisms of the Market
Moral Criticisms Market This assignment requires read article Ken S. Ewert (found eading & Study folder). Note article, Ewert defending free market "Christian Socialists." He states position a rebuttal

Moral criticisms of the market: A critique of Ewert's analysis

It is interesting to read Ken S. Ewert's 1989 criticisms of 'Christian socialists' in light of current debates on other types of economic policies today. Ewert portrays Christian, leftist defenders of socialism as impervious to logic, in contrast to other former critics of capitalism, who grew more acclimated to capitalist principles in light of the failure of the Soviet Union Similar criticisms are made of 21st century religious fundamentalists, who stress the need for private enterprise to address societal problems 'on principle,' even when public regulation might be helpful and who try to define science, including science education, in religious terms rather than in terms of logic. Ewert's essay…...

mla

Reference

Ewert, Kenneth. (1989). Moral criticisms of the market. FEE. Retrieved:

 http://www.fee.org/the_freeman/detail/moral-criticisms-of-the-market

I. Introduction

Hook: Begin with an intriguing question, anecdote, or thought-provoking statement to capture the reader's attention.
Thesis Statement: Clearly state your stance on the existence of life after death, providing a brief overview of the arguments you will present.

II. Body Paragraph 1: Arguments Supporting Life After Death

Discuss cultural and religious beliefs that suggest the existence of an afterlife, highlighting common themes and variations.
Cite evidence from religious texts, rituals, and traditions that support the idea of life beyond the physical realm.
Provide examples of near-death experiences, out-of-body experiences, and reincarnation cases that are often interpreted as evidence of....

Importance of Integrity in Shaping Character and Building Trust

Discuss the essential role of integrity in developing strong moral character.
Explore how integrity fosters trust and enhances relationships in personal and professional spheres.
Examine the consequences of lacking integrity and the impact it can have on reputation and credibility.

Integrity in the Workplace: Maintaining Ethical Standards and Promoting Fairness

Analyze the importance of maintaining integrity in the workplace, including ethical decision-making and fair treatment of employees.
Discuss the challenges of upholding integrity in competitive environments and the role of leadership in setting ethical standards.
Explore the consequences of unethical behavior in....

Media influence on the ordinary person:

- Shaping opinions and beliefs: The media can influence individuals' perceptions and beliefs on various issues through news coverage and editorial content.
- Setting trends: Media platforms like social media and celebrity culture can shape people's preferences and behaviors in terms of fashion, lifestyle, and consumption.
- Creating fear and anxiety: Sensationalized news reporting can instill fear and anxiety in people, affecting their mental well-being.
- Normalizing certain behaviors: Depictions of certain behaviors, such as violence or substance abuse, in entertainment media can normalize them in society.
- Influencing political views: Media coverage of political events and campaigns can....

Here is a possible thesis statement about "The Great Gatsby":

In F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel "The Great Gatsby," the pursuit of the American Dream ultimately leads to downfall and disillusionment for the characters, revealing the emptiness and corruption at the heart of the 1920s Jazz Age society.
Here is a possible thesis statement about "The Great Gatsby":

In F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel "The Great Gatsby," the pursuit of the American Dream ultimately leads to downfall and disillusionment for the characters, revealing the emptiness and corruption at the heart of the 1920s Jazz Age society. By examining the characters' relentless pursuit of wealth,....