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Book details

Reification

A New Look At An Old Idea (The Berkeley Tanner Lectures)

by Axel Honneth

Published 2007184 pagesISBN 978-0-1953-2046-6

"In these original and imaginative essays, delivered as the Tanner Lectures at the University of California, Berkeley, in 2005, the distinguished third-generation Frankfurt School philosopher Axel Honneth attempts to rescue the concept of reification by recasting it in the terms of the philosophy of recognition he has been developing over the past two decades." "Three distinguished political and social theorists - Judith Butler, Raymond Geuss, and Jonathan Lear - respond with hard questions about the central anthropological premise of Honneth's argument: the assumption that prior to cognition there is a fundamental experience of intersubjective recognition that can provide a normative standard by which current social relations can be judged wanting. Honneth listens carefully to their criticisms and provides a powerful defense of his position."--Jacket.

Beyond its central premise, the book can be read through the connected lenses of Philosophy, Nonfiction. Those themes offer useful points of attention as the characters, ideas, or world develop, especially where the book complicates the expectations of its primary category.

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What the reading experience may hold

A fuller profile for choosing with more confidence—not just another copy of the preview.

Themes to notice

Philosophy · Nonfiction

Use these as starting points rather than limits; the most memorable books often stretch beyond their catalog labels.

Content notes

No specific content concerns can be confirmed from the available English catalog information. Consult a publisher or reader-supplied guide when detailed warnings matter.

These notes are inferred from available catalog information and may not be complete. Check a publisher or reader-supplied guide if you need comprehensive warnings.

Reading experience

Balanced tone · Measured pace

Works well for a focused weekend or a few concentrated sittings.

Who it may suit

A good fit if…

Readers who want a thoughtful experience and enjoy noticing the connections beneath a book’s surface story.

At a glance

This book's DNA

A visual estimate based on this edition's categories, description, and length. Select a star to explore the signals.

ToneBalanced
LuminousDark

This signal is descriptive, not a rating. It helps compare the kind of reading experience this edition may offer.

No plot details

Spoiler-Free Emotional Arc

A broad estimate of the book’s emotional rhythm, shown without story events or outcomes.

Spoiler-free
12345
PeakRelative emotional intensity
ReificationAxel Honneth
Heightened4.1/5

This visualization is an interpretive estimate based on catalog description, categories, tone, pace, and content signals. It does not describe specific scenes.

Before you choose

A quick reading snapshot

Edition facts and catalog signals to help you decide whether this book fits what you want to read next.

Reading lengthA shorter read184 pages in this edition
Publication eraModernFirst published or edition dated 2007
Primary categoryPhilosophyAlso cataloged under Nonfiction
ISBN-13
978-0-1953-2046-6
Language
English
Edition record
OL10135106M
BookenDeX editorial lens

A more thoughtful way into this book

This guide uses the edition details and category signals above to help you choose deliberately. It does not replace the author's work or a full review.

Good to know

Works well for a focused weekend or a few concentrated sittings.

Begin with its place in Philosophy, then notice where the book resists that label.

Try this reading approach

Read for connection, not completion.

Mark one passage that sharpens the book's central concern and one that complicates it. That tension often reveals more than a quick summary.

Three questions to carry with you

  1. What question is the author really asking beneath the book’s main argument?
  2. Which claim challenges one of your familiar assumptions?
  3. What remains unresolved—and is that uncertainty useful?

Editorial framework by Wesley Bryan, BookenDeX Founder and Editor.