====== Reification ======

Various forms of fallacies of reasoning or [[abstraction:index|abstraction]] in which something is, in some way, understood as a “thing” when it is not actually appropriate to do so.

The term is used very inconsistently in the literature and can therefore refer to a wide variety of phenomena, depending on the context. These include, amongst others:

  * The fallacy of treating //abstract concepts// as if they referred to something concrete. This is referred to here as <strong maniculus "see:">[[abstraction:hypostatization|Hypostatisation]]</strong>.

  * A special case of this is the confusion of a //symbol// with the object or phenomenon it symbolises. This is described here as the <strong maniculus "see:">[[abstraction:semiotic_fallacy|Semiotic fallacy]]</strong>.

  * The fallacy of regarding or even treating //people// as if they were //objects//. This is referred to here as <strong maniculus "see:">[[abstraction:objectification|Objectification (of human beings)]]</strong>.

  * Conversely, when //human characteristics or attributes// are ascribed to plants, animals or even inanimate objects (e.g. stones or bodies of water), we refer to this as <strong maniculus "see:">[[abstraction:anthropomorphisation|Anthropomorphisation]]</strong>.

However, //all// these phenomena can also be described as “reification”. For this reason, these articles also have this term listed under “Other names”.

===== See also =====

  * [[abstraction:index|Fallacies of abstraction]]

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