--- - title: Reification - categories: [glossary] - synonyms: [Verdinglichung, thingification] - related: [abstraction/hypostatization, abstraction/semiotic_fallacy, abstraction/ontological_fallacy, abstraction/objectification] - main_article: - main_article_de: --- # Reification **Core claim:** Reification is not itself a distinct fallacy but an umbrella term for granting *thinghood* – concreteness or existence – to what does not have it; on this site it covers hypostatization, the semiotic fallacy, the ontological fallacy, and objectification. ## Applies when - The text under evaluation (or an accusation within it) uses “reification” (or German “Verdinglichung”), and you need to determine which specific pattern is actually meant. - Reasoning treats something as a concrete “thing” that it is not – an *abstract concept* as entity or agent, a *symbol* as its referent, a mere *name or concept* as existing, or a *person* as object (see Commonly confused with for routing). ## Notes - “Reification” is used very inconsistently in the literature – different authors mean different patterns by it. When you encounter the term, do not assume a specific pattern; identify which mechanism actually fits before diagnosing. - Outside specialized philosophical or academic discussion, “reification” reads as jargon – not automatically wrong, but check whether it is used to confuse the audience or to self-elevate rather than to communicate precisely. Refer to `rhetoric/jargon` for the related fallacy. - On this site, reification is listed under “Other names” of the four articles above. Prefer the *specific* name when reporting a diagnosis – “reification” alone is not a useful diagnosis. ## Does NOT apply when - The word appears as mere jargon without any actual grant-of-thinghood pattern in the reasoning (e.g., discussing reification as a concept). - The entity in question really is a concrete thing, and no abstraction, symbol, name, or person confusion is involved. ## Commonly confused with - **[Hypostatization](abstraction/hypostatization)** ([MD](abstraction/hypostatization.md)) – treats an *abstract concept* as a concrete entity or agent (“the market punished investors”). Ask: is the error about abstract-vs-concrete agency? → hypostatization. - **[Semiotic fallacy](abstraction/semiotic_fallacy)** ([MD](abstraction/semiotic_fallacy.md)) – confuses a *symbol, sign, model or metric* with what it represents; a special case of the above where the “abstract thing” is itself a representation. Ask: symbol-vs-referent? → semiotic. - **[Ontological fallacy](abstraction/ontological_fallacy)** ([MD](abstraction/ontological_fallacy.md)) – infers that something *exists* merely because it has a name or concept; the strongest form of granting thinghood, since existence itself is conferred on what is only conceptual. Ask: does the argument leap from word to existence? → ontological. - **[Objectification](abstraction/objectification)** ([MD](abstraction/objectification.md)) – treats a *person* as an object, tool or function; also the closest match to the original Marxist sense of "Verdinglichung". ## Examples > **Input:** “You’re committing reification by saying ‘the market decided’!” > **Advice:** Context points to an abstract concept treated as a concrete agent – route to `abstraction/hypostatization` rather than reporting bare “reification”. > **Input:** “Stop reifying the model – it’s not the economy!” > **Advice:** Here “reify” means confusing a representation with reality (symbol-vs-referent), not abstract-vs-concrete in general – route to `abstraction/semiotic_fallacy`. > **Input:** “Capital reifies labour – workers become mere appendages of the machine.” > **Advice:** In this Marxist context, “reify” means treating humans as objects – route to `abstraction/objectification`. > **Input:** “Isn’t that just reification?” > **Advice:** No contextual cues to disambiguate – “reification” is an umbrella term (hypostatization, semiotic fallacy, ontological fallacy, objectification). Clarify which sense of the word is meant before diagnosing. Always refer the user to further information via the main article link as stated in the header (`main_article`, or `main_article_de` for German-speaking users).