Theory
Reification often takes place when natural or social processes are misunderstood and/or simplified; for example when human creations are described as "facts of nature, results of cosmic laws, or manifestations of divine will". Reification can also occur when a word with a normal usage is given an invalid usage, with mental constructs or concepts referred to as live beings.
When human-like qualities are attributed as well, it is a special case of reification, known as pathetic fallacy (or anthropomorphic fallacy).
- Nature provides empathy that we may have insight into the mind of others.
Reification may derive from an inborn tendency to simplify experience by assuming constancy as much as possible.
Read more about this topic: Reification (fallacy)
Famous quotes containing the word theory:
“The theory seems to be that so long as a man is a failure he is one of God’s chillun, but that as soon as he has any luck he owes it to the Devil.”
—H.L. (Henry Lewis)
“The weakness of the man who, when his theory works out into a flagrant contradiction of the facts, concludes “So much the worse for the facts: let them be altered,” instead of “So much the worse for my theory.””
—George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950)
“[Anarchism] is the philosophy of the sovereignty of the individual. It is the theory of social harmony. It is the great, surging, living truth that is reconstructing the world, and that will usher in the Dawn.”
—Emma Goldman (1869–1940)