Concept of identity in a commercial world [I Want To Write My Random Thoughts And Feelings]

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Reality is constructed by things we percieve as beings. If we dont percieve it it doesnt exist to us. Our Connciousness is all connected. And we all generally believe the same rules as we all follow society and media. Everybody percieves everything the same way because if this. What is there that hasnt been pervieved and identified by us? We wouldnt know. Yet. What is it befor we give it an identity? If i create somthing myself it hasnt been percievd by us. I then give it a label of what i choose. It is then that by everybodies definition that i show it to. If i want you to desire the object i give it the label of somthing that you desire. If i where to show it to everyone using society and media it becomes popular and my object needs to multiply. Becoming object(s). There is now a "supply" of "objects" that everybody desires. If i give it a value, that value is associated with me. It becomes my value. My value is expressed in the object and multplied with it.

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hartfire

I've encountered this view many times. Most commonly I find it in people who've read [i]A Course in Miracles[/i]. But I've also found it among some varieties of postmodernists who've studied the ideas of "reality" from the perspectives of psychoanalysis, linguistics, and social constructs.

But I was raised to be an independent thinker, to cross-check facts for external physical evidence.

I accept that humanity does create a collective mind which is the sum of all its communications and actions, and that most people are far more influenced by their environment than they realise.

But I do not accept that existence exists only as a result of our perception and would therefore cease to exist if there were no sentient being.

Rather, matter, energy and the laws of physics existed for millions of billions of years before any sentient life evolved - and it will continue to do so long after we become extinct.

As for value, desire arises from need. Advertising is successful only if someone thinks they need an object (can be a physical, psychological or social need) - and if they can afford it.
The idea that a person's personal value is dependent on how much others value what they produce is, I think, one of the most psychologically problematic ideas common to Western materialist culture. A much healthier inner self-esteem and self-worth is created by valuing ethics, virtues, and talents, and the development of wisdom. An argument could also be made for valuing life and individuality for its own sake, irrespective of personal traits.
Otherwise, everyone who does not fit "the standard" (whatever it may be) becomes abandoned, marginalised, and cast out into the realms of suffering.

GuyWithOpinions · 31-35, M

@hartfire but if it has not been percieved by us then it doesnt exist to US. it cant be communicated to others. I could have maybe worded that better. Like that saying "if a tree feel in a forrest,does it make a sound". If no ones there. The will still be a tree on the ground but the sound was there and gone. If no one heard it. No one is there to say yes. I heard that.

And this kind of just a random thought i had. Would this be the mindset of a business owner. Is this how they think? You can go to school for marketing. They have it down to a psychological science when it comes to advertising and creating cravings subconsciously. Look at what our world has become.

hartfire

@GuyWithOpinions Yes. If a tree falls in a forest, it makes a great thundering, splintering, shredding sound. The birds fly up into the air for nearly a kilometre around. Light is created in the gap in the forest canopy, allowing new seedling to grow. The old wood rots, creating hollows for animals to nest in, and eventually it rots into nourishment to support the growth of all that lives in the forest. Every forest is the evidence of its own existence for all the life that lives in it. Humans are not the only sentient beings. In fact, they only a minute proportion of all the animals on the planet.

WOuld it be the mindset of a business owner? Often, yes, unfortunately - particularly men. When men are raised to believe it is their responsibility to be the breadwinner of the family, they often base a super large chunk of their sense of identity on what they do for a living. This is one of the reasons why unemployment or retirement can become a cause for depression, sometimes even suicide. It's a very familiar problem well known to psychologists.

You're right about advertising - to a degree. But don't forget that we are also so besieged by advertising that most of us have become immune to it; we switch off to ads unless we're looking for something specific.
Advertisers aim to spend 3% of their production budget on marketing (varies depending on the industry; the less necessary the item, the greater the budget.) But on average they reap less than 1% of their budget in new buyers. That 3% is worth it to the majority of business owners - if only because it's fully tax deductible.
The majority of custom comes from locals and regulars.

GuyWithOpinions · 31-35, M

Yes we know it makes a loud thundering crack because its been percieved before. And that is the after math of that event. If a new born baby went in that forest he wouldnt know that was the cause of all that. He would just perceive the gap as just the way it is. Maybe not even notice it until you pointed out the difference. Until informed that trees fall. Then would create it in his own imagination until seeing the event himself.

GuyWithOpinions · 31-35, M

And would still have no concept of the thundering crack even through explenation. He has to hear it himself

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