reification

A Dictionary of Sociology | 1998 | 563 words | Copyright

reification The error of regarding an abstraction as a material thing, and attributing causal powers to it—in other words the fallacy of misplaced concreteness. An example would be treating a model or ideal type as if it were a description of a real individual or society. In Marxist theory, reification is linked to people's alienation from work and their treatment as objects of manipulation rather than as human beings, and was popularized by György Lukács, but the term is given a variety of meanings by different schools of Marxist thought.

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GORDON MARSHALL. "reification." A Dictionary of Sociology. 1998. Encyclopedia.com. 30 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

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