Materialism

difficult to contemplate what is truly essential in living a fulfilling life nowadays. With so many advertisements and new department stores out there, the true essence of life is terribly lost for many Americans. It 's lost in the materialism of modern life. Materialism is defined as a tendency to consider material possessions and physical comfort as more important than spiritual values. This is the contrast to the 19th century philosophy named transcendentalism which emphasizes the spiritual…

Our world always loved sucess. It is now remarquable that it is measured by the excellence of the things we buy. We can see that our society is becoming more and more materialistic. The fact that we think material leads to happiness and the way that those "sale days" are becoming crazy in the mall are proving my words. Some of us think that the way material affects our society isn't much of a deal. In fact, according to an article by Thorin Klosowski, there's actually a lot of economists and…

In D.H. Lawrence's “The Rocking-Horse Winner” the mother’s lack of love, materialism, and her concern for status ultimately destroys her son. The mother married for love, rather than money, but it faded over time. Not even her children could fill the void in her heart where love was meant to be. This “troubled” her and made her all the more tender and concerned for her children, “as if she loved them very much.” Only she knew that in the center of her heart was a place that could not feel love,…

Jewels and cash rolling down the marble staircase. Bugatti and Lamborghini purring in the garage. Late night after parties all week. Yes, riches are the goal in this world. These are what many individuals aim tirelessly for. However, each person has a different taste when it comes to wealth. Humans can attain wealth through physical, mental, or spiritual means. Some prefer to be materialistic while others want to be well-rounded in information or even figuring out their state of being in this…

I do, and I do not agree with Huston Smith stating that Christianity is the most materialistic religion. I think no religion is materialistic, so less or more is not the issue. I think religion is the way of life, which again is very personal. I don’t think religion but more like people choice. All the stereotyping again, I think some people are materialistic, and some aren't in every religion. I don’t think its religion but more of people's choices. There’s a good person in all the group you…

“And the winner is...John Weist-laired!” John, a middle aged man wearing ripped jeans and a hooded sweatshirt, hobbled up the street corner in New York City to claim his million dollar raffle prize courtesy of McDonald’s. He graciously accepted the prize money and sought out to spend it on unnecessarily flashy and materialistic items. It came as a shock to Mr. Weist-laired when the bank came to take away his new apartment because he had been failing to pay off his mortgage payment. With a…

she sees these material possessions as more important and the focus of her life. She almost sees these material possessions as more important than her husband, which only furthers the idea that the ‘American dream’ is built off of a focus on materialism. Additionally, Carolyn also constantly puts up this facade of happiness in order to maintain this idea of an ideal American household. For example, when she fails to make a house sale, Carolyn begins to weep. However, she sees this sign of…

Gatsby reflects the trends of the 1920’s through the transformation of James Gatz, the differences between the houses in West Egg and East Egg, and the unflattering picture of the era. Fitzgerald conveys a message warning against the perils of materialism during the course of the novel. First, his transformation of James Gatz to Jay Gatsby shows the trends of the decade because of the determination he had for wealth and luxury. James lived a simple life in North Dakota, but he wanted to create…

opportunity is given to everyone according to their ability or achievement regardless of their social class, and that anything, such as rising from rags to riches, is possible with enough hard work and tenacity. This interplay between idealism and materialism is at once contradictory and complementary, because idealistic dream usually has a substantial material base. The concept of this dream is ideal since it suggests hope, opportunity and equality, but the realization and the ultimate goal,…

one that controls our feelings, thoughts, and beliefs. For philosophers there are many ways to explain the mind and body problem but the two main ones include materialism and dualism. In this circumstance one has to come to a conclusion as to if they believe that the mind and body are separate entities, dualism, or they are one, materialism. The argument of the mind-body is one that tries to understand how mental states can affect…