What can we learn from Materialism?

in #philosophy7 years ago

Hey steemians first post of this nature.In this post I am trying to highlight what we can learn from materialism about ourselves because doesn't look like materialism is going away anytime soon.

I have always wondered about why is it that humanity is obsessed with Materialism. It's clearly evident that humans were smart enough to distinguish themselves from other primates and I feel one of the reasons why they were able to do so is because of a materialistic mindset.

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Lets consider the early human for a second , there entire purpose in life was survival in order to survive early humans made tools and weapons (materialistic goods) which served a valuable purpose.Eventually I am guessing there may have been a time where humans needed these tools on a daily basis such that if an individual were to leave their house they would need to carry these tools for peace of mind.Following on with what I wrote above I can imagine the early human forming an emotional relationship with the materialistic good and thereby giving rise to materialism as we know it today.

Fast forward to the 21st century that we live in today , I believe materialism is at its peak.We now live in a world which is extremely catered to our needs and therefore we are able to enjoy some of the finer things life which highlights that these materialistic goods can have an impact on our day to day life today as well.The key is to be happy and have a positive mindset any way you can and if materialistic goods make you happy then be it.

In my opinion one can only let there creative juices flow when they adopt a positive mindset.

We also see that materialism has unknowingly resulted in creativity and our desire to understand why we exist on a fundamental level.This combination of Materialism, creativity and curiousity is what is driving most of the ground breaking scientific and technological advancements.

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So I must admit that eventhough I am not the biggest fan of materialism,it is important to note the role it has played in shaping our society's past and how it may impact the future.

Let me know what you guys think.

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Hey,dope words man. I started correlating when you mentioned the early humans' survival mode evolving and blending into the materialistic wants for the tools helping them to survive. Loved that you took us back to the roots to form the premise of the thought.I felt the need to connect and was quite a natural preception personally. I feel now the existential threat to living/life is a lot lesser with poverty declining globally,more trust along borders(until zi declares a world war)and hence the survive changed to thrive mode which is the money tool and the materials in business,corporate,govts etc today. I might be jumping ahead here but dopamine is also linked closely to the brain's response to materialism. When it kicks in, the need becomes irrelevant to the want. i dunno, always love your stuff, just awesome to resolve. <3 dwelling into your posts before the A.I singularity deciphers it all:) Thanks again for the refreshing content bruz

Thanks for the comment bruzz you bring up some good points it'd be interesting to see how this plays out.I was getting bored on the plane figured i reflect on something and this came to my mind.