
A commonly cited example of reification is the treatment of intelligence testing scores as if they were the concrete and universal definition of intelligence. Intelligence is an abstraction that is difficult to define and measure. Treating an abstraction as a concrete thing.
What is reification?
More ... What is Reification? Reification is a fallacy that results from treating an abstraction as a concrete thing. It is associated with taking ideas too far until they become rigid and oppressive. A concrete thing is undeniable and measurable, treating your abstract thoughts in the same way tends to be illogical.
What is a reification fallacy?
A fallacy is an error in judgement or reasoning. The reification fallacy is assuming that abstract ideas are concrete, like people, animals, and things. Imagine seeing a map that outlines the state of Arizona and believing that the state itself has a similar border of lines.
What are some examples of reification in psychology?
However, reification is often considered a sign that someone is thinking illogically. For example, if you think of justice as something physical, you're confusing ideas and things, which can lead to problems. Think you’ve got a good vocabulary?
How do you write an essay on Reification?
Example: There are two different manifestations of reification. Write an essay of at least three to four paragraphs that explains fallacy in concrete thinking. Be sure to explain the role of confusion in this type of reification. Also answer the following question: How does this type of reification help people make sense of the world around them?

What is reification in simple terms?
noun. the act of treating something abstract, such as an idea, relation, system, quality, etc., as if it were a concrete object: Defining “home” as if it were just a roof over one's head, instead of the center of a web of relationships, leads in turn to the reification of homelessness.
What is an example of reification fallacy?
An example of the reification fallacy is reasoning from the fact that people do good in the world to the conclusion that good exists in the world as a chair does. Although good is a feature we ascribe to human actions, it does not exist in the world in the same way.
What does reification mean in Marxism?
In Marxism, reification (German: Verdinglichung, lit. transl. "making into a thing") is the process by which social relations are perceived as inherent attributes of the people involved in them, or attributes of some product of the relation, such as a traded commodity.
What is the problem with reification?
Reification (also known as concretism, hypostatization, or the fallacy of misplaced concreteness) is a fallacy of ambiguity, when an abstraction (abstract belief or hypothetical construct) is treated as if it were a concrete real event or physical entity.
What is another word for reification?
What is another word for reification?hypostatizationobjectificationpathetic fallacythingificationpersonificationmanifestationincarnationexternalizationUSexpressionrealizationUS38 more rows
What is the opposite of reification?
We have listed all the opposite words for reification alphabetically. disorganization. anarchy. chaos. confusion.
Who developed the theory of reification?
Lukács's theory of reification, explained in his 1923 work, History and Class Consciousness, is often interpreted as a theory of ideology, but it is also a theory of social practice and a work of social ontology.
Who gave the concept reification?
Marx's concept of reification is a multi-dimensional concept: his analysis addresses both the nature of the social structure and the nature of social consciousness, as well as the reciprocal relations between these two levels.
What is cultural reification?
Rather than a product of comparison, the reification of culture—the tendency to turn names into things—may be inherent in the act of naming (Appadurai, 1996).
What is reification of intelligence?
What is reification in artificial intelligence? Reification is the process through which an abstract idea regarding a computer application is converted into an object or explicit data model or another object created in a programming language.
What is reification in psychology?
n. treating an abstraction, concept, or formulation as though it were a real object or material thing.
What does it mean to say that religion is a reification?
Reification is the process of making religion something concrete when it is truly an abstract idea with lots of smaller concrete ideas. For example, in Hinduism, the British reified the word "Hindu" when it was really an abstraction.
What is reification in psychology?
n. treating an abstraction, concept, or formulation as though it were a real object or material thing.
What does it mean to say that religion is a reification?
Reification is the process of making religion something concrete when it is truly an abstract idea with lots of smaller concrete ideas. For example, in Hinduism, the British reified the word "Hindu" when it was really an abstraction.
What is the fallacy of appeal to prejudice?
Appeal to Prejudice: Poisoning the Well Influencing people to want to disassociate with something. Examples: “You'd be stupid if you did that.” (you don't want to be considered stupid.)
What is hypostatization fallacy?
The fallacy of hypostatization happens when someone thinks of an abstract concept as if it was a concrete thing. Another name for the fallacy is reification. An example would be someone who says "justice demands" something. Justice is really an abstract concept and has no way to "demand" anything.
What is reification in psychology?
Reification is when you think of or treat something abstract as a physical thing. Reification is a complex idea for when you treat something immaterial — like happiness, fear, or evil — as a material thing.
What does it mean when a wedding ring is reified?
However, reification is often considered a sign that someone is thinking illogically.
What is the definition of objectification?
objectification. the act of representing an abstraction as a physical thing. noun. representing a human being as a physical thing deprived of personal qualities or individuality. “according to Marx, treating labor as a commodity exemplified the reification of the individual”. synonyms: depersonalisation, depersonalization.
What are some examples of the Reification Fallacy?
One example of the reification fallacy would be viewing a rock as something that has the ability to move.
What is the fallacy of reification?
The fallacy of reification is the belief that a word or phrase has an intrinsic meaning. This can lead to misunderstandings and confusion, as words do not have any inherent meaning.
What does it mean to reify an idea?
Reifying an idea means taking it as real when it might not be true.
How does the media reify a person?
The media may reify a person or event by turning it into an object for consumption, as in the case of celebrities.
What does "reification" mean in Latin?
From Latin res ("thing") and - fication, a suffix related to facere ("to make"). Thus reification can be loosely translated as "thing-making"; the turning of something abstract into a concrete thing or object.
When does reification take place?
Reification takes place when natural or social processes are misunderstood or simplified; for example, when human creations are described as "facts of nature, results of cosmic laws, or manifestations of divine will".
What is the fallacy of misplaced concreteness?
According to Alfred North Whitehead, one commits the fallacy of misplaced concreteness when one mistakes an abstract belief, opinion, or concept about the way things are for a physical or "concrete" reality: "There is an error; but it is merely the accidental error of mistaking the abstract for the concrete.
What is the fallacy of treating an abstraction as if it were a real thing?
Reification (also known as concretism, hypostatization, or the fallacy of misplaced concreteness) is a fallacy of ambiguity, when an abstraction (abstract belief or hypothetical construct) is treated as if it were a concrete real event or physical entity.
What is the difference between a pathetic and a reification?
Just as reification is the attribution of concrete characteristics to an abstract idea, a pathetic fallacy is committed when those characteristics are specifically human characteristics , especially thoughts or feelings . Pathetic fallacy is also related to personification, which is a direct and explicit ascription of life and sentience to the thing in question, whereas the pathetic fallacy is much broader and more allusive.
What is the animistic fallacy?
The animistic fallacy involves attributing personal intention to an event or situation.
Is the Reification Fallacy a fallacy?
Thus, in contrast to Whitehead, many psychologists seem to believe that, if properly understood and empirically corroborated, the "reification fallacy" applied to scientific constructs is not a fallacy at all; it is one part of theory creation and evaluation in ' Normal science '.
