Showing Off: The Geltung Hypothesis

Philip L. Wagner

Published by University of Texas Press 1996

Showing Off

The Geltung Hypothesis

Philip L. Wagner

https://doi.org/10.7560/791022

Overview
Contents

About this book

Hardly a place exists on earth that has not been shaped in some way by human beings. Every day we modify and even sweep away natural landscapes as we build places to live and work. But why we react and interact as social beings intent on exercising ecological dominance poses an endlessly compelling puzzle for everyone from novelists to geographers.

In Showing Off, distinguished geographer Philip L. Wagner offers a persuasive hypothesis. Drawing on a lifetime of inquiry, travel, and teaching, he asserts that the strive for Geltung—personal standing, recognition, acceptance, esteem, and influence—shapes all of our interactions and defines the unique social character of human beings.

Wagner applies the Geltung hypothesis to a wide range of human activities from falling in love and spreading gossip to buying goods and making war. His examples demonstrate how communication and display—"showing off"—impel geographic change, as they reveal how and why people with the most Geltung tend to occupy the most desirable places.

This broad vision draws insights from many fields. A major contribution to cultural geography, the book also sheds new light on individual psychology and psychopathology and suggests new themes for cognitive science and even philosophy. Sure to stir lively debate in many circles, it will be provocative reading for everyone fascinated by the continuum between people and places.

Author / Editor information

Philip L. Wagner is Professor Emeritus of Geography at Simon Fraser University.

Topics

Frontmatter Publicly Available Download PDF	i
Contents Publicly Available Download PDF	v
Preface Publicly Available Download PDF	vii
Introduction: The Geltung Hypothesis Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	1
1 Bodies Influence Bodies Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	5
2 Provocation Produces Results Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	16
3 Acts of Display Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	26
4 Show and Tell Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	36
5 Proverbial Geltung Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	46
6 Actions Speak Louder Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	56
7 Selective Impressions Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	68
8 Getting Around Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	80
9 Spread the Word Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	90
10 Working Together Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	103
11 Sources of Power Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	113
12 Limits of Force Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	125
13 Borrowed Energies Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	134
14 Conclusions Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	145
15 Select Bibliography Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	149
Index Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	153

Language: English
Publisher: University of Texas Press
Audience: College/higher education;
Pages
- Main content: 176

eBook

Published: April 20, 2000
ISBN: 9780292799943