Mental Materialism

[jonathanb]

I've known too many ESTJs in my life. They all had a very prominent trait of being obsessed with material things. They might do any of the following or all of these together:
1. Collect/Buy expensive/lucrative items (to appear more "respectable"?)
2. Obsessively save money and funds on certain things as a principle, as saving money appeared to them as "wise" and "right".
3. Horde tons of unnecessary items and keep them in their home for whole decades, resisting to give up any of them.

I gave this some thought yesterday, and realized that I do the same thing - not with material things, but with knowledge. You could say I have the same obsession as theirs, focused in another direction. I will:
1. Collect/Learn/try to understand and might even "buy" the "best", "rarest" and most "lucrative", interesting and thoughtful knowledge I can find. I will spend much of my time on doing this.
2. Horde tons of knowledge of all kinds, trying to maintain a high level of understanding and factual know-how in a million fields, and having a hard time letting go of any given field I've researched, regardless of the reality of whether I currently need it in my life or not (though I have eventually managed to move on with these things - just takes me too much time).

So question is - are we INTJs "Mental Materialists" in the same way that ESTJs are simply Materialists? And what are, in your opinions, the possible equivalents in other types?

[Sean O]

1. Most of the ESTJs I've known like to get expensive, higher-quality things like sound systems, lighting, furniture/decor, etc., because it creates a more pristine atmosphere for people to hang out in, not because they're "materialistic". There's a reason why the most successful clubs, lounges, restaurants, etc., pay very careful attention to these things as well.

2. What's wrong with saving money? Why are you assuming that ESTJs do it to "appear" wise and right? Maybe it is wise and right to be diligent with one's savings?

3. How exactly did you arrive at the conclusion that ESTJs simply are materialists, anyway? That's a very arbitrary, generalized statement to make about an entire category of people, most of whom you have never met and will never meet.

[Oros Ull]

YES!!!

I do that as well. My room is stacked with books and diagrams from a million different fields.

And I try to learn as much as I can from all of them regardless of whether it is practical or not.

I always considered it as Eclecticism… But I see what you are saying.

But if I know about something I don’t know, then I feel inadequate and want to learn as much as possible about it.

A blank spot in my world view is unacceptable. Lol.

[jonathanb]

Sean O - My mother, grandfather, grandmother and best friend are all ESTJs. They are all very materialistic, pretty proud of themselves being so, and relate their materialistic tendencies, in their own words, to their need to appear more "wise", "honorable", "respectable", "in-line with traditional mannerisms", etc. Besides them, I've know quite a few other ESTJs throughout my life who were exactly the same. So this is pretty much coming from my intimate knowledge of such people, and not from something I read in a book.

[Distance]

In my opinion, human beings acquire and hoard for similar underlying reasons. In doing so, we have control against uncontrollable environmental impacts.

[jonathanb]

In my opinion, human beings acquire and hoard for similar underlying reasons. In doing so, we have control against uncontrollable environmental impacts.

That's pretty much one of my major incentives in gathering knowledge - to "be prepared for anything".

[stealthfighter]

Between physical and mental materialism, I'd prefer the latter. At least mental materialism enriches one's character (which is usually harder than enriching one's treasure trove) and you can bring a rich character down to the grave (or the afterlife) cause it's part of you and something that's unlikely to get lost.