Reification in market societies: Theoretical conceptualizations and researchability

Abstract

This article asks what philosophers can learn from social research in order to develop the notion of reification further. At first, we present a theoretical analysis of the concept of reification. Then we survey the main research into employment and management strategies through various sectors (industry, services and knowledge work) asking to what extent this research is informed by the notion of reification. The last part of the article focuses on Lithuanian research. We conclude that while the notion of reification is not often employed in contemporary social research, much of that research is close to the normative concerns implicit in the notion of reification. This research then provides a valuable input for further philosophical development of the theory of reification.