Instrumentality: How We Develop Relationships With Objects and People

There are many different types of relationships a person will have throughout their life, each being given varying levels of authenticity, weight, and care. One’s attention is primarily placed upon the meaningful relationships in one’s life, but often deeper consideration of one’s “lesser” relationships is neglected. Networking and professional relationships are often impersonal. Family members will often lie to each other in favor of avoiding conflict. The emotional labor of service workers often goes underappreciated and undercompensated. Careers in the political sphere revolve heavily around maintaining a positive public image, and there are well-observed disparities between politicians’ stated values and their actual support of legislation. This paper looks to compare the relationships that people have with objects to the relationships people have with other people, by proposing a standardized framework through which all relationships with entities of all types are formed. I argue that the impersonal relationships we hold are closer to the kinds of relationships we have with objects. I also make the argument that we ought to recognize how our relationships with objects are more nuanced than one might commonly assume. I conclude that by more accurately conceptualizing our relationships, we ultimately improve the quality of those relationships, both in terms of how they might benefit each entity, but also in terms of how we ought to act so as not to encourage disingenuity or dishonesty.