WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):

reification
    n 1: regarding something abstract as a material thing [syn:
         hypostatization, hypostatisation, reification]
    2: representing a human being as a physical thing deprived of
       personal qualities or individuality; "according to Marx,
       treating labor as a commodity exemplified the reification of
       the individual" [syn: depersonalization,
       depersonalisation, reification]