Alienation

Alienation is a process or a state of being alienated from someone or something.

In law, alienation refers to a state of being isolated from a group or an activity to which one should be otherwise involved. In civil procedure, it refers to transfer of ownership or property rights to someone else. In criminal procedure, it refers to transfer of affection from a person, such as a spouse, on or with whom there are legal rights or other claims. It is from this comes the legal phrase alienate someone's affections.

In psychology, it refers to a feeling of isolation. It often results into becoming unsympathetic or hostile. In certain acute psychological conditions, it refers to a mental condition in which familiar persons or situations appear unfamiliar, which is known as a type of faulty recognition.

In psychiatry, it refers to depersonalization or loss of identity of the self. For a person suffering from this condition, the self seems unreal. It originates from a prolonged inhibition of emotion along with difficulties in relating oneself to the society.

In politics and economics, it refers to a feeling of being alienated from governance and economy.

In Marxist theory, it refers to a state of workers in a capitalist economy in which they feel alienated and lose identity with the products of their labour mainly due to a sense of being controlled and exploited.

In theatre, it refers to an effect on audience in which they remain objective and do not identify themselves with the actors.