Reification for Dummies

Hey there! So, I'm here to help you understand what "reification" means. Don't worry if it sounds like a big word, because I'm going to break it down into simple terms for you.

So, imagine you have a really cool talent, like drawing. You can take a blank piece of paper and turn it into a beautiful picture by adding colors and shapes. Now, think of "reification" as doing something similar, but with ideas or concepts instead of paper and colors.

When we reify something, we take an abstract idea or a feeling and give it a concrete form or make it feel like a physical thing. It's like taking a thought, turning it into a real thing, and treating it as if it's tangible. It's a way of making something intangible feel more real or solid.

Let me give you an example. Have you ever had a favorite character from a book or a movie? When you love that character so much that you start talking about them as if they were a real person, you're reifying them. Even though they're just a creation of someone's imagination, you make them feel real and alive to you.

Now, reification can have another meaning too. Sometimes, it refers to the process of treating an abstract concept, like justice or freedom, as if it's a real thing that exists outside of our minds. It's like treating these big ideas as if they have a physical form, even though they're actually just concepts.

For example, imagine if someone says, "Justice will prevail!" They're talking about justice as if it's an actual person who can do something or make things happen. It's a way of making a big idea feel more concrete, even though it's not something we can touch or see like a table or a chair.

So, in a nutshell, "reification" means giving something abstract a concrete form or treating an abstract concept as if it's a real thing. It's like turning thoughts into something more tangible and making ideas feel more solid.