Project 2 Argument Map by Nicole Krushinski

Main Argument

nk970 — 2024-09-29 23:24:00 UTC

Paul Bloom's central thesis is that people buy luxury items because of the history and meaning that we link to them. Bloom states, "Foer's unusual hobby illustrates powerfully how the most mundane objects accrue value through their histories" (Bloom 7). He argues that even the most simplest items have a certain history bring humans a sense of satisfaction. The price of the item doesn't matter, rather it's the history and significance that we associate with the item that matters most.

Argument 1

nk970 — 2024-09-29 23:56:54 UTC

Most people own and buy things that they don't need. People enjoy luxury goods due to trends and what they signal, but they aren't a necessity.

Argument 2

nk970 — 2024-09-30 02:38:31 UTC

An object's importance is its place in history. People place sentimental value on items that have a history behind them.

Evidence 1

nk970 — 2024-09-30 02:46:27 UTC

"And then there is the psychological data suggesting that status might not be the whole story. If I buy a watch to impress my friends, one can worry about the cost of envy. But what if I buy it because it gives me pleasure? That one child enjoys a teddy bear doesn’t seem to detract from his playmate’s enjoyment of his own. That no one watches me eat mom’s cooking doesn’t make it taste any less wonderful. Some goods, including luxury goods, are valued for properties that have nothing to do with what other people think, so worries about arms races just don’t apply" (Bloom 9). This is a primary source because he refers to psychological data.

Evidence 1

nk970 — 2024-09-30 02:50:46 UTC

"With fellow psychologists George Newman and Gil Diesendruck, I conducted a series of experiments exploring this celebrity-endowment phenomenon. We asked our subjects to name a living famous person they admired. (Answers included Barack Obama and George Clooney.) Then we asked how much they would pay for a specific object, such as a sweater, that was owned and used by this person. When our subjects were told that the object would be thoroughly sterilized before it got to them, they dropped their offers by a third" (Bloom 6). This is a primary source because he conducted the experiment.

Evidence 2

nk970 — 2024-09-30 02:57:01 UTC

"Children experience the same boost in value in their attachments to teddy bears and security blankets. Psychologist Bruce Hood and I tested this by presenting children with a machine we described as a duplicating device. We then fooled the children into believing that we had made perfect copies of their attachment objects and asked them which they wanted to take home, the original or the duplicate. They tended to want the original" (Bloom 7). This is a primary source because Bloom conducted this experiment.

Evidence 2

nk970 — 2024-09-30 02:58:02 UTC

"In fact, one can compare this device to another, much more expensive kind of object that a rich person is likely to possess: anyone who spends almost $6,000 on a watch winder is probably spending many times more than this on art" (Bloom 10). This is a primary source since he came up with his own conclusion for it.

Connections/Disconnections

nk970 — 2024-09-30 03:09:12 UTC

People tend to purchase things that are not necessary. This typically happens because something is popular at one moment, and then at another moment another thing is popular. Purchasing a luxury item can bring happiness to the person and they might feel a sense of accomplishment. People want luxury items because having that item sends a signal of our wealth to others. Bloom says, "Consistent with this, neuroscience studies reveal that when people look at products they judge to be "cool," brain areas associated with praise and social approval are activated" (Bloom 3). This demonstrates that signaling theory suggests that the happiness of one relies on others around them.

Connections/Disconnections

nk970 — 2024-09-30 03:16:51 UTC

People place importance on an object based off of who used to own it and the history behind it. When experiments were conducted, people dropped their offers when they found out that the item was cleaned. They placed less value on it since it didn't really have much importance after it was cleaned. Similarly, kids tended to want the original teddy bear since it had more significance and there was a history behind it. The duplicate had very little importance because the kids had no form of attachment to it. Postrel argues that people buy goods for the aesthetics and positive sensory feelings one gets. While people may enjoy items based on their appearance, not all items are suitable for this category. Postrel's claim only talks about the appearance of the item and does not talk about the main approach and how people don't only enjoy an item based off of its appearance. Bloom counters this by saying "humans are not primarily sensory creatures"(Bloom 4).