The Meaning of Things: Domestic Symbols and the SelfThe meaning of things is a study of the significance of material possessions in contemporary urban life, and of the ways people carve meaning out of their domestic environment. Drawing on a survey of eighty families in Chicago who were interviewed on the subject of their feelings about common household objects, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi and Eugene Rochberg-Halton provide a unique perspective on materialism, American culture, and the self. They begin by reviewing what social scientists and philosophers have said about the transactions between people and things. In the model of 'personhood' that the authors develop, goal-directed action and the cultivation of meaning through signs assume central importance. They then relate theoretical issues to the results of their survey. An important finding is the distinction between objects valued for action and those valued for contemplation. The authors compare families who have warm emotional attachments to their homes with those in which a common set of positive meanings is lacking, and interpret the different patterns of involvement. They then trace the cultivation of meaning in case studies of four families. Finally, the authors address what they describe as the current crisis of environmental and material exploitation, and suggest that human capacities for the creation and redirection of meaning offer the only hope for survival. A wide range of scholars - urban and family sociologists, clinical, developmental and environmental psychologists, cultural anthropologists and philosophers, and many general readers - will find this book stimulating and compelling. |
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Spis treści
People and things | 1 |
What things are for | 20 |
The most cherished objects in the home | 55 |
Object relations and the development of the self | 90 |
The home as symbolic environment | 121 |
Characteristics of happy homes | 146 |
The transactions between persons and things | 173 |
Signs of family life | 197 |
Meaning and survival | 225 |
Procedures and interview notes | 250 |
Interview schedules | 254 |
Coding categories and definitions | 268 |
Additional tables | 278 |
| 298 | |
| 301 | |
Inne wydania - Wyświetl wszystko
The Meaning of Things: Domestic Symbols and the Self Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi,Eugene Halton Ograniczony podgląd - 1981 |
The Meaning of Things: Domestic Symbols and the Self Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi,Eugene Halton Podgląd niedostępny - 1981 |
Kluczowe wyrazy i wyrażenia
action activity answer associated attention become Books cherished concern continuity cool create cultivation culture described direct effect emotional environment example existence experience express fact father feel friends furniture give given goals household human important individual integration intentions interaction interview invested involved It's kind less living look material meaning memories mentioned mother needs NS NS objects one's parents past patterns percent Perhaps person physical plants play possessions possible present productive psychic energy qualities question reasons referring reflect relationship represent respondents role seems sense serve shape significance signs social status symbolic Table tend things tion transaction turn ultimate Visual warm whole women
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Informacje bibliograficzne
| Tytuł | The Meaning of Things: Domestic Symbols and the Self |
| Autorzy | Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, Eugene Halton |
| Redaktor | Eugene Halton |
| Wydanie | ilustrowane, reprint |
| Wydawca | Cambridge University Press, 1981 |
| ISBN | 052128774X, 9780521287746 |
| Liczba stron | 304 |
| Eksportuj cytowanie | BiBTeX EndNote RefMan |