false http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1173905174m/343493.jpg 343493 1 The 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. 333836 30 10 2002 The meaning of things total:8|5:1|4:1|3:5|1:1| 8 25 29 3 5 0 false false Tue Feb 19 20:45:07 -0800 2008 Mon Jan 28 12:24:30 -0800 2008 Mon Jan 28 12:25:50 -0800 2008 3 0 false false Fri Nov 16 04:01:37 -0800 2007 Thu Jul 12 20:44:17 -0700 2007 Mon Jul 23 19:45:43 -0700 2007 0 0 false false Sat Sep 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Mon Aug 27 06:36:42 -0700 2007 Tue Sep 11 09:14:43 -0700 2007 0 0 false false Tue Sep 01 17:15:01 -0700 2009 Tue Sep 01 17:15:01 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Tue Sep 01 04:33:12 -0700 2009 Tue Sep 01 04:33:12 -0700 2009 3 0 false false Mon Aug 03 13:19:22 -0700 2009 Mon Aug 03 13:19:22 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Sun Jul 19 11:09:31 -0700 2009 Sun Jul 19 11:09:31 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Tue Jul 14 21:38:52 -0700 2009 Tue Jul 14 21:38:52 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Mon Jun 08 15:47:19 -0700 2009 Mon Jun 08 15:47:55 -0700 2009 3 0 false false Wed May 13 10:03:25 -0700 2009 Wed May 13 10:03:25 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Fri May 08 05:04:44 -0700 2009 Fri May 08 05:04:44 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Fri May 01 18:03:23 -0700 2009 Fri May 01 18:03:23 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Fri Apr 17 15:27:27 -0700 2009 Fri Apr 17 15:27:27 -0700 2009 4 0 false false Tue Feb 24 20:15:40 -0800 2009 Tue Feb 24 20:15:51 -0800 2009 0 0 false false Sat Feb 21 15:14:01 -0800 2009 Fri Nov 13 08:42:44 -0800 2009 0 0 false false Wed Jan 28 07:10:44 -0800 2009 Wed Jan 28 07:10:44 -0800 2009 0 0 false false Sat Jan 03 22:34:18 -0800 2009 Sat Jan 03 22:34:28 -0800 2009 0 0 false false Thu Dec 25 20:21:44 -0800 2008 Thu Dec 25 20:21:46 -0800 2008 0 0 false false Thu Dec 11 22:45:11 -0800 2008 Thu Dec 11 22:45:11 -0800 2008 0 0 false false Wed Dec 03 17:34:22 -0800 2008 Wed Dec 03 17:34:22 -0800 2008 http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=343493