- Hardcover: 448 pages
- Publisher: The Johns Hopkins University Press (2 Aug 2006)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0801884209
- ISBN-13: 978-0801884207
- Product Dimensions: 2.3 x 1.6 x 0.3 cm
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 3,140,501 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Description
Review
Offers an extensive overview of the psychological and philosophical literature concerning the self.
(Ulrich Muhe Metapsychology 2006)A surprisingly entertaining as well as revealing examination of consumer habits essential to any college-level collection strong in sociology.
(Bookwatch 2006)A nuanced portrait of the search for identity and significance in the consumer age.
(Christina Simko Culture 2007)Draws an interesting and balanced parallel between the dawn of modernity in the Renaissance and the postmodern age of consumerism.
(Veronika Koller Discourse Studies 2008)The magic of Hankiss's exposition is found in his capacity to elevate the small things into their larger, sometimes cosmic symbolic meanings. His style is that of a virtuoso, often playful, almost always insightful and convincing. He is a shrewd observer and interpreter of life.
(Neil Smelser, University of California, Berkeley 2010)The book is humorous and is certainly good fun to read... it may make the reader briefly pause and ponder the significance of their daily oral hygiene practices!
(Joseph Burridge Sociology )Product Description
This lively and insightful account reveals the profound ways in which everyday acts and artifacts of consumer civilization shape our sense of self.
Elemér Hankiss shows how human beings act simultaneously in two plays. On the "trivial" surface of their everyday lives they work, make money, raise children, build houses, and do a lot of other things. At the same time, they also act in the "existential" drama of their lives—even if they are not aware of doing so. They construct and reconstruct their selves each day by striving for authenticity, the intense experience of being, dignity, meaning, and the hope of immortality.
Hankiss explores this interaction between the trivial and existential, in the process unfolding its context in "consumer civilization." This concept is brilliantly illustrated in a section entitled "the toothpaste of immortality":
"If we watch enough commercials, we believe that this or that special brand of toothpaste preserves our teeth, and— per metonymiam—ourselves, young and beautiful indefinitely. And then, for a fleeting moment, there, in our bathrooms, we experience the sweet and melancholy illusion that we may stay young and beautiful forever; that we may defeat mortality; we may defeat decay and death."
First published to great success in Hungarian, this entertaining and compelling book reveals surprising insights into the challenges and possibilities of self-fulfillment.
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4 reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
I'll be honest, I was intrigued by the title...
26 Jan 2008
Format:Paperback
This book makes you realize just how pervasive 'consumer culture' is in our everyday lives. While that may bother some people, this book is an enjoyable read because, thoguh intelligent and well researched, its not a dense academic book.
I picked it up on a whim, and read through the first thirty pages before realizing that if I didn't get up and buy it, I'd be sittign in the bookstore all day reading it. Read the excerpt here, see if it does the same to you.
I picked it up on a whim, and read through the first thirty pages before realizing that if I didn't get up and buy it, I'd be sittign in the bookstore all day reading it. Read the excerpt here, see if it does the same to you.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
How many examine how consumer habits and choices shape consumer psyche and the nature of everyday living?
12 Dec 2006
Format:Paperback
Plenty of books document consumer history: but how many examine how consumer habits and choices shape consumer psyche and the nature of everyday living? The Toothpaste of Immortality just such, drawing important connections between everyday living and the mundane and how the very nature of being and perception are changed by consumerism. Chapters blend philosophy with consumer analysis to provide a surprisingly entertaining as well as revealing examination of consumer habits essential to any college-level collection strong in sociology.
Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch
Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch
Heady Stuff
12 Nov 2009
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
If this book does not have you asking yourself questions and rethinking your daily routines nothing will
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