Author(s): Onur TOPALOÄLU** Turan Ãzgür GÃNGÃR
Inthisstudy, thedevelopment of theconsumptionwasdiscussedfrommiddleagestotodaythrough a historicalpoint of view. Theintroductionwasreservedfordetailingstyleandtheconcept of stylewasexplained. Thetypes of stylewerediscussedafterdealingwithdifferentstyledefinitions. Followingthis, consumptionwasdealtwithregarding how it wasapproached in differenterasand how it thenchanged. Thisconcept had a negativemeaning in middleagesbecause of thesocial, politicalandeconomicconditions of thisperiod. However, it thenseemedchangeswiththeIndustrialRevolutionandsignifiedthepositiveaspect of therevolution. IncreasingprosperityandproductionwithIndustrialRevolutionmeet us as one of thereasons of promptingpeopletoconsumemore. Consumptionthenbecameindispensable in our life whencapitalismfoundedthecore of the life of humanbeingsandthesystem of governments. Whileconsumptionwasdealtwithbiologicalaspecttillthetwentiethcentury, it gained a symbolicmeaningwiththelastcentury. Individualsalsoaimedtocreatechangingidentitiesforthemselveswhileconsuming. Inthepostmoderntimes, wemeet a societywhichdependsitsexistence on towhatextent it consumes, andthiscausedthetransformation of consumptioninto a war of images. Inthismanner, Rene Descartes’sidiom of “I thinktherefore I am” changedinto “I consumetherefore I am”.
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