Name: The Meaning of Things (in English)
Price: 66.20 USD
Availability: InStock
Author: Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
ISBN: 9780521287746

portada The Meaning of Things (in English)

Type

Physical Book

Author

Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

Eugene Halton

Publisher

Cambridge University Press

Year

1981

Language

English

Pages

304

Format

Paperback

Dimensions

23.0 x 15.2 x 2.0 cm

Weight

0.46 kg.

ISBN

052128774X

ISBN13

9780521287746

Synopsis "The Meaning of Things (in English)"

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.

Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

(Author)

View Author's Page

(1934 - 2021) Psicólogo húngaro-americano. Es conocido por su investigación pionera en el campo de la psicología positiva, donde ha desarrollado conceptos clave relacionados con la experiencia óptima y la motivación; su tema de reflexión preferido fue el significado de la felicidad. Fue profesor de psicología en la Universidad de Claremont (California), jefe del departamento de psicología en la Universidad de Chicago y del departamento de sociología y antropología en la Universidad Lake Forest. Es uno de los psicólogos más citados en la actualidad en campos relacionados con la psicología, la educación, el liderazgo y la creatividad.

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