1/2 (Tue.)Why are we so attached to our things? (Host: Rock)

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註冊時間: 週三 10月 31, 2007 9:03 am

1/2 (Tue.)Why are we so attached to our things? (Host: Rock)

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Why are we so attached to our things?

https://ed.ted.com/lessons/why-are-we-s ... an-jarrett

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyl ... -or-desire
https://thepsychologist.bps.org.uk/volu ... and-things

Our possessions are a major contributor to and reflection of our identities. Knowingly or unknowingly, intentionally or unintentionally, we regard our possessions as parts of ourselves. As Tuan argues, "Our fragile sense of self needs support, and this we get by having and possessing things because, to a large degree, we are what we have and possess"

William James laid the foundations for modern conceptions of self, held that: a man's Self is the sum total of all that he CAN call his, not only his body and his psychic powers, but his clothes and his house, his wife and children, his ancestors and friends, his reputation and works, his lands, and yacht and bank-account. All these things give him the same emotions. If they wax and prosper, he feels triumphant; if they dwindle and die away, he feels cast down,-not necessarily in the same degree for each thing, but in much the same way for all.' If we define possessions as things we call ours, James was saying that we are the sum of our possessions.

Questions:
Session One

1. The endowment effect says that once people own a stuff, there would be an attachment between them and that thing.
1.1 Some things seem to have strong endowment effect to us, like a wedding ring or ________ (please think of something to fill in the blank, and tell us why it's important to you).
1.1.1 What would you feel if you lost your wedding ring, and why?
1.2 Have you ever given away your belongings, like clothing, books, scooters or even cars? When you see that thing again, do you still feel somehow it is still "yours"? What does this effect do to us?
1.3 Is it true that a second-hand stuff has the essence of its previous owner?
1.3.1 Sometimes people feel creepy to have a second-hand thing if the previous owner is dead. What free gifts would you refuse from a dead? What things you would't care?
1.3.2 In what cases can things remind us of their previous owner?

2. Do you agree with the article that your possessions, to a large degree, define who you are?
2.1 Is it good or bad that humans define themselves by material stuff? Or is it just human nature so it's neither good nor bad?
2.2 Do you think that a person's car tells who they are? If you were super rich, what kind of car would you have, and why?
2.3 A wedding ring tells your marriage status. What other things also define who you are?
2.4 Is it true that "good stuff" make people better in someway?

3. More and more of our possessions are now digital in nature, including books, newspapers and photos. Will this change our relationship with our things?

Session Two

7. What things do people collect? Do you want to collect anything? Why do humans collect things?
8. What is materialism? Is materialism all bad?
9. What are the possible problems for people if they love their possessions too much? Can you think of any examples?
9.1 What is hoarding? Do you know any examples of hoarding? Is hoarding a serious problem? How do we solve the problem?

********************************************************************************************************************************************
Agenda:
6:45 ~ 7:00pm Greetings & Free Talk / Ordering Beverage or Meal / Getting Newcomer’s Information
7:00 ~ 7:10pm Opening Remarks / Newcomer’s Self-introduction / Grouping
(Session I)
7:10 ~ 7:50pm Discussion Session (40 mins)
7:50 ~ 8:10pm Summarization (20 mins)
8:10 ~ 8:25pm Regrouping / Instruction Giving / Taking a 10 Minutes Break (Intermission)
(Session II)
8:25 ~ 9:05pm Discussion Session (40 mins)
9:05 ~ 9:25pm Summarization (20 mins)
9:25 ~ 9:30pm Concluding Remarks / Announcements ********************************************************************************************************************************************
聚會日期:列於該貼文主題內
聚會時間:當天請準時於 6:45 pm 到達 ~ 約 9:30 pm 左右結束
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