Objectification

Objectification is the process by which an abstract concept is made as objective as possible in the purest sense of the term. It is also treated as if it is a concrete thing or physical object. In this sense the term is a synonym to reification.

This term is also used to describe the treatment of a human being as a thing, disregarding his/her personality or sentience. Philosopher Martha Nussbaum has argued that something is objectified if any of the following factors is present:

• Instrumentality – if the thing is treated as a tool for one's own purposes;
• Denial of autonomy – if the thing is treated as if lacking in agency or self-determination;
• Inertness – if the thing is treated as if lacking in agency;
• Ownership – if the thing is treated as if owned by another;
• Fungibility – if the thing is treated as if interchangeable;
• Violability – if the thing is treated as if permissible to damage or destroy;
• denial of subjectivity – if the thing is treated as if there is no need to show concern for the 'object's' feelings and experiences.

See also

• Description
• Sexual objectification
• Dehumanization
• Edward Said's Imagined geographies