Towards a Clarification of the Concept of Reification
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Bowling Green State University / OhioLINK
1980
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| Online Access: | http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1570783750513145 |
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ndltd-OhioLink-oai-etd.ohiolink.edu-bgsu15707837505131452021-08-03T07:13:05Z Towards a Clarification of the Concept of Reification Barnes, Margery A. Sociology The concept of reification has been a subject of debate and controversy among social scientists ever since 1923 when Georg Lukács first presented it in theoretical form. The purpose of this study was to clarify the meaning of the concept and determine its utility for contemporary sociological analysis.Clarification was achieved by investigating the historical roots of the concept in the works of Hegel and Marx, as well as the more contemporary usages found in the theoretical schemes of Lukács, Peter Berger and Stanley Pullberg, and Joachim Israel. The basic criterion of scientific realism, that if concepts are to be of scientific utility they must have referents which exist in the real world, was employed to determine the research utility of the concept. Analysis indicated that Marx's 1844 concept of alienation, Marx's concept of the fetishism of commodities, and the concepts of reification developed by Lukacs, Berger and Pullberg, and Israel were all formulated in an effort to explain why man is not in control of social and historical forces. However, the study also found that only two of these concepts, Marx's concept of the fetishism of commodities and Israel's concept of reification, have empirical referents which are amenable to research. It was concluded that the other concepts developed to explain man's lack of control are of no scientific utility because their referents are rooted in anthropological assumptions about the nature of man. It was also concluded that Marx's concept of the fetishism of commodities and Israel's concept of reification are of potential use in sociological research because they both have referents which exist in the real world. However, further analysis is required to determine which, if either, of these concepts facilitates a valid explanation of man's lack of control, and, if necessary, from which direction reformulation should proceed. 1980 English text Bowling Green State University / OhioLINK http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1570783750513145 http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1570783750513145 unrestricted This thesis or dissertation is protected by copyright: all rights reserved. It may not be copied or redistributed beyond the terms of applicable copyright laws. |
| collection |
NDLTD |
| language |
English |
| sources |
NDLTD |
| topic |
Sociology |
| spellingShingle |
Sociology Barnes, Margery A. Towards a Clarification of the Concept of Reification |
| author |
Barnes, Margery A. |
| author_facet |
Barnes, Margery A. |
| author_sort |
Barnes, Margery A. |
| title |
Towards a Clarification of the Concept of Reification |
| title_short |
Towards a Clarification of the Concept of Reification |
| title_full |
Towards a Clarification of the Concept of Reification |
| title_fullStr |
Towards a Clarification of the Concept of Reification |
| title_full_unstemmed |
Towards a Clarification of the Concept of Reification |
| title_sort |
towards a clarification of the concept of reification |
| publisher |
Bowling Green State University / OhioLINK |
| publishDate |
1980 |
| url |
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1570783750513145 |
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AT barnesmargerya towardsaclarificationoftheconceptofreification |
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