Consumption: philosophy Flashcards
What the philosophycal approach of Plato is about?
Thinking philosophically about some things means thinking about the words we use to talk about them and what they mean. The assumption is that we know what we’re talking about, it usually works, and it has done so for many years. But then with the advent of doubt, hence when philosophers began to question these assumptions, during the heyday of Athens, Socrates challenged traditional notions of morality and knowledge, revealing the limits of human understanding. His trial for blasphemy highlights his commitment to questioning beliefs. This critique extends to everyday situations in which superficial assumptions influence behavior, including in professional settings.
What are the 2 concepts related to consumption?
1.Need: something that is necessary, essential for our survival. Usually a need is circular, too are fulfilled for a limited period of time. When we look at clothing we can see them as a need, for example: homeless people who need them to survive the cold weather. Clothes can also be need to express a statement or activism; they cover us and offer protection. For the food is the same.
2.Desire: something that we wish for, want strongly, but is not linked to survival, but more for pleasure. We can link the fashion to the desire, it is art, beauty, style and trend. It can be use to please the eyes. It is important to think about clothes that distinguish people (uniforms, Tibetan monks) they can be seen also as need or desire. When we think about food again it is the same. We go to fancy restaurants to please out taste, not to survive.
The line between a need and desire I very thin, sometimes we perceive a desire as a need. The two mechanisms are related, not disjoined.
Are people consumers in all these cases?
Not necessarily, a homeless man may have found the clothing in the trash this not paid for them. But on the other hand we can understand a consumer as someone who uses a piece of clothing. The same goes for food: it can be seen as a way to escape starvation; for sensational experience; as signification of something linked to religion.
