Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    The Social Construction of Reality: A Treatise in the Sociology of Knowledge
    The Social Construction of Reality: A Treatise in the Sociology of Knowledge
    The Social Construction of Reality: A Treatise in the Sociology of Knowledge
    Ebook352 pages5 hours

    The Social Construction of Reality: A Treatise in the Sociology of Knowledge

    By Peter L. Berger and Thomas Luckmann

    4.5/5

    ()

    Switch to audiobook
    Read preview

    About this ebook

    A watershed event in the field of sociology, this text introduced “a major breakthrough in the sociology of knowledge and sociological theory generally” (George Simpson, American Sociological Review).
     In this seminal book, Peter L. Berger and Thomas Luckmann examine how knowledge forms and how it is preserved and altered within a society. Unlike earlier theorists and philosophers, Berger and Luckmann go beyond intellectual history and focus on commonsense, everyday knowledge—the proverbs, morals, values, and beliefs shared among ordinary people. When first published in 1966, this systematic, theoretical treatise introduced the term social construction,effectively creating a new thought and transforming Western philosophy.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherOpen Road Media
    Release dateApr 26, 2011
    ISBN9781453215463
    Author

    Peter L. Berger

    Award-winning scholar and author Peter L. Berger (b. 1929) has been hailed as one of the most important modern American sociologists. Berger graduated from Wagner College in New York in 1949 before receiving his master’s degree and doctorate from The New School in New York in 1950 and 1954, respectively. Today, Berger is a professor emeritus of religion, sociology, and theology at the University of Boston and director of the Institute for the Study of Economic Culture, which studies relationships between economic development and sociocultural change. Berger’s works include Invitation to Sociology (1963), The Social Construction of Reality (1966) with Thomas Luckmann, The Sacred Canopy (1967), and A Rumor of Angels (1969).

    Read more from Peter L. Berger

    Related to The Social Construction of Reality

    Related ebooks

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      Man United

      Feb 25, 2022

      The philosopher Nina Power believes men are under attack. Western society has done away with “the positive dimensions of patriarchy”, that is, “the protective father, the responsible man, the paternalistic attitude that exhibits care and compassion”.

      2 min read

    • Article

      How Nostalgia Made America Great Again

      Apr 20, 2017

      Make America great again. Clearly the message resonated. In 2016, prior to the presidential election, the Public Religion Research Institute, a nonpartisan group, published its annual American Values Survey. It revealed 51 percent of the population f

      10 min read

    • Article

      The End Of The End Of History

      Sep 25, 2023

      The End Of The End Of History
      5 min read

    • Article

      ‘Strategic Empathy’: H.R. McMaster On Foreign Policy And China

      Sep 22, 2020

      H.R. McMaster, former national security adviser to President Donald Trump, discusses new book “Battlegrounds” and U.S.-China policy with the Monitor.

      4 min read

    • Article

      What’s Philosophy For?

      Aug 10, 2020

      What’s Philosophy For?
      4 min read

    • Article

      News From Nowhere

      Jan 23, 2018

      News From Nowhere
      4 min read

    • Article

      A Perception Of Something

      Nov 7, 2020

      A Perception Of Something
      9 min read

    • Article

      Herbert Spencer’s Principle of Equal Freedom: Is It Well Grounded?

      Sep 1, 2020

      During the mid-to late nineteenth century, Herbert Spencer was the most widely read philosopher in the world. A large part of his appeal was owing to his ambition of providing a complete and comprehensive account of human reality based on scientific

      38 min read

    • Article

      Around The Web

      Nov 7, 2020

      The categories of Image, Word, Orientation and Action constitute the main divisions of the Warburg Institute Library and encapsulate its aim: to study the tenacity of symbols and images in European art and architecture (Image, 1st floor); the persist

      1 min read

    • Article

      Why History Must Take A Stance

      Feb 18, 2021

      Why History Must Take A Stance
      9 min read

    • Article

      Who’s Afraid of Theory?

      Oct 29, 2020

      The conclusion among many folks is that Theory is a kind of philosophical Mad Libs disappearing up its own ass, accountable to nobody but itself and the departments that coddle it. The post Who’s Afraid of Theory? appeared first on The Millions.

      14 min read

    • Article

      Challenging Orthodox Science

      Jul 15, 2021

      TO SEND REVIEW COPIES, CONTACT THE BOOK REVIEWS EDITOR AT DVBARRETT@FORTEANTIMES.COM Imants Barušs Imprint Academic 2021 Pb, 228pp, £14.95, ISBN 9781788360418 The late William Corliss was very fond of a particular quotation from the 19th-century psyc

      11 min read

    • Article

      From BR Ambedkar’s preface to The Untouchables: Who Were They and Why They Became Untouchables?

      Nov 9, 2019

      … what annoys one is the intolerance of the Brahmin scholar towards any attempt to expose the Brahmanic literature. He himself would not play the part of an iconoclast even where it is necessary. And he would not allow such non-Brahmins as have the c

      4 min read

    Reviews for The Social Construction of Reality

    4.5/5

    16 ratings6 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 4/5
      This is quite an interesting book. Its main thesis is an attempt to tie together epistemology and sociology. TO SUMMARIZE: Thought is a social construct. Our ways of thinking are influenced by our ancestors and traditions. There's also Wittgenstein's baby - how language affects thought.

      Of course, after watching both political conventions over the past two weeks, it is necessary to discuss the political role of this idea. One could see it being discussed by reformers/radicals, who want to change society and assist oppressed peoples by changing the long-held societal misconceptions which lead to their oppression. Another possibility involves a certain long-gone form of conservatism, which remarks on the fragility of society, and that any reform attempts must be undertaken with great care. This conservatism, of course, is not the naked imperial greed which calls itself 'conservative' today.

      One example of social constructs is race. Compare America and Western Europe. In the former, 'white people' are a monolithic bloc, in the latter, there are still hazy distinctions drawn up between North and South European, Germanic and Slav. I know the feeling of race directly - I have been mistaken, at various times in my life, for being Russian, Mexican, and half-Chinese or half-Vietnamese. My mother is also mistaken for Chinese, despite being Filipino. Other possibilities about social construction include sexuality, political beliefs, professions, and others.

      Such an idea has its charms, but also its detractors. I wonder how a biological approach to ideas, such as neuroscience or evolutionary psychology (as flawed as the latter is) might make an approach to such similar topics. For a book on sociology, it does raise the question of if we can truly attempt to understand the point of view of a person who's lived in a completely different society than we have.
    • 4/5
      This book really helped me to clarify a lot of thoughts / feelings I'd had about society for a long time, and to articulate them better. It's very insightful and I consider it an important read. The only reason I'm not giving it 5 stars is because it's a very tricky read due to the way language is used, making it inaccessible to a lot of people. I think at least some of the ideas could have been expressed more clearly. Conversations about society aren't worth as much if they're inaccessible to most of society.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 5/5
      A wonderfully compelling, lucid, and witty sociological theory work. This book deals with two main connected topics: how we construct our reality (and hence our knowledge) in society, and how our reality constructs our identities. However, laid out like this, these topics seem perhaps too academic or too abstract. It may be better to say simply that Berger and Luckmann wrote a brilliant account of the essence of our lives.
    • 3/5
      Fascinating topic. I learned a lot - and asked myself even more.
    • 4/5
      A very difficult read, but worth the effort to understand how human beings do in fact construct realities that deny their very essence.
    • 4/5
      EN ESPA?OL: No puedo creer que nadie m?s haya intentado hacer una rese?a de este libro estando en tantas de nuestras bibliotecas.Personalmente qued? fascinado con el alcance de este libro, sobre todo en tan corta extensi?n: 230 p?ginas aproximadamente. Lo tomo como todo un tratado en epistemolog?a social, que alcanza a abarcar tanto sus procesos macrosociales como microsociales. Con tantos nuevos conceptos, me hubiera ayudado encontrar palabras en it?licas y negrilla, al igual que diagramas, para facilitarme su comprensi?n.Supongo que el texto no es m?s extenso al evitar una mirada reflexiva hacia su propia propuesta: ?si cualquier teor?a tiene una base social tan innegable, como es descrita por los autores, c?mo entienden ellos esto en el desarrollo de su propia teor?a? Me hubiera encantado haber tambi?n encontrado eso en el libro.En resumen, leerlo fue INMENSAMENTE estimulante tanto a nivel personal como intelectual.----IN ENGLISH: I can?t believe no one else has tried making a review of this book being in so many of our libraries.Personally I was fascinated with the reach of the book, especially in such short extension: approximately 230 pages. I take it as a treatise in social epistemology, which manages to include its macrosocial processes as well as its microsocial ones. With so many new concepts, it would?ve helped me find words in italics and bold letters, as well as diagrams, to help me with its comprehension.I guess the book isn?t any longer as it avoids a reflexive perspective towards its one proposal: if any theory has such an undeniable social base, as it?s described by the authors, how do they understand this in the development of their own theory? I would?ve loved finding this also in the book.In short, reading it was IMMENSELY stimulating at a personal as well as an intellectual level.

    Book preview

    The Social Construction of Reality - Peter L. Berger

    xBebook_preview_excerpt.html\rr~9wR-gJ\ޢmyͬ,$yIz0#}sH?y?In`0CJŮh?5kgOg?>?^_R]*^\]tS<{JOm? m7osxu>?ϯ_3zϞnW/~>/n#-n7x=^ 1ebvyQHu1|q9=0?[62lzQ~vFz]nfmi]vmp}OU\'xg[g ۬'SoL(.gv]cf/H _?_]{^n֥- )>vCXLXTE;ZYWvWvV…m!h*+woCkZܡk-OK{o+غG4_m+W,^Sc?ٕ 4ߛ.KX)<'e=LX]C/洆Ѹ~nwyd!īH1YqIߠ3}ݸp-x8od_B@|!A [y'~j'żK.}k)[SCO`i[EEl]yM@Y2|K\Iqb Z@ v6cߓgCYl^ 5kϞ~|΃ncOY͆8uk\UỦ@l&RlZ/um~Ne\&L ]5m,fYs<BO,DMZ 0'\oáS愂H@/LYdp1k-6nni+Go׮?,P IIڸ޶5F'M2xБ}IU}伆p7. ߳V&%vƐP⑁z0ʶj0Y-ރ߹-oh&Xr;.lw$݅ݒV4w+zi4=Ӫ]MѸhI{S9)vV|i+2ʭ~i[z?;Z)TZGLrIB\,)$kqY=1j?&z@$>nL(9+']VEձ"4䎚E:Ri.MA2jkOr6#- n8228.Oo' Ӛf0OUi64K'[Rp6ij{mG~yRtv|GAS(޼1;+-IY,".maV R^'{6nL,y+]L PeuI^|v_MB6Nm ̇gQe~&ʿc>˖ P-mo`؁=)VAo'_~icN|  l4 z/iMVYODYѭKVO$6?N$~W3/HMi5`O-t6R۸ L% /LjY(p` 7Ww@|i#MXa R.;[+]sG)qF;'ij D,Q()O JoݸĂYwg[OO' #l(4`EdOmӑq%D`?{~H^tY>V]bV`:.qU/!Ẁ`խ̐'lIC&KY@ `C1 W kgi{T;l'M $u 楕 1°*Kc.ZH\eա}ݚƴ/]:sy <.FX1~ ;Xe[!w&- 8UI.ZeFi .ʂ{*`ϢX;؊ ;hh0 6ݟI|LV VU fhBvϤ@Obaŧ,~v~M]L;u!j,ԗٱ["-`"PJX[44s{_s̛"}*X5"@@q cӮ)(.I43$ːC kON>=}<$ kj5X0]oL";=Q; $[o _7[vM{,!#\~UՑ Qg;RN8!Dg.)V3 yXw.iV$ ؚ,}UGs9+;bWΎcizY+ĜB}GU6{`/KkvYqEu`hX/Iڋf-1e6j@ߍ׊mOٰvL)l؊ /n nS l\SD{]{ ^6ka6 )s1fni洿KLS'LXS P`cQVt.47$_v_SJqO48yAdADuKDΆ8~O9tQ|׊׮K9`7s_h.{  )%j`;82]Qv$˪$/'q +C`h<,,5 — 0!Pm^YġrR2D oӟ}CK72#je_4nF8yagʖ5a>/|2.KkV°PȺ%!_lHi03 hR4)IO1Zl~&!"ykS. .J! =V,P(-mW立o.W1|{?KTnz]^mq,s6<|6ϲ?3"Q," fty}ߟE1`E{@vg~3m|Rfmp2Gϔ~7䦑xlD$ߍ4  F|޲FA~s%%iidd&eH;l[a:!җ k436 >!J@׾x !HTζfo Cqi>s9lH1k NC8h@bМd--d- @)5 I&=ҤtU@H)FK`P٨4`m-)YY;Ƀ Q m+QXr jSLoP*Fh}:pHm Rmnua##gfom"bW"f᣸X {1qRLB4w Z$N"XwXZ32h݄ܨt Prt?D!˯~J{^[eeSUI>bͳ`KoՂ4D-4v(2djwzn6(3<+'ZFt'&h6iZPpdaxzV\O, ֊-[ mzR ͆t!Uv@FbnD1#A-Ikmᄬ\m13k.qetR.a7 /Bmnmċ.r)=> ơXɘ'3b=e92N6f'q~sC1ȍWb%Vpn*V j>ߑv$PgnlvaJ Aߟxⲉ ծq+YZ tD&;RvQj3L!]Z#2mH!Wϊ XHOe@ G+N>5U?Bژx?{1`"͒>E@vb*|lqآSRe.Ho$"־SJL3$CZ)FV]m=K*|ڗAᬠ?I+:غjtB`fc?=ͩsUEB}]JOs;v#h]4?#3w~`dvUMGM =: 2W8sP Q]+M⬠xk\oN=;>;pܑѵoGEN2K]]>~jýk37G{_U͝줋E~4V"t*l}ȈДE7^ȭkbIF|8x1ŭ#g.wou1EdNaPjV 7UoDs"x/0UE՘Ka3)߆,fE=6]Dj="P~yRsV\yA0Z׽1 ǠA+C4GuW  /6B c02C>m80Gr ikr2=uVB mb韜8D*+}S,j1ލЏ"\}_19 F@diHP4VE3y)_5ˎߔp>;o 2v9&Zo4(୲#Se\l"Ho'9 @l9M-pt /%H,`yw_= UA-~(٧k, r/SXc~IDAz\Qd{w3 O~|vdmhykO ϊC k>V??a(2-2|F;?Z4t9H0F6s3s\ttM;:[v7:Hz.F;D;{7ddr,3Jtzl< \[MSt,=smpP[$a+=x1XwUdF2GO@cXs"" d%,fe"eř#$$R e䦕ÔTb7{aa,ZE"Isܘ(u[!!gZE1̇h$#έ̽'yLK8a_kc!}/>~$GŢh'.ӑ;/Lrr?^884TL]4UVN8v%C_7d6ɎTrυiKR8&ɕ,`(E:!Ĥ`VtxJoQP+;[.Q< j9{2nq2a.9l( SrW+6D eoxn8M1en{x!IoYB8RRtmTT8_).`a3c=@+%( IYEg>rCw2(Ob_@nN>} 7|u~{TMggSzX.왫mr=vH)6İmL8o,G64˧Bq"0Dj8A_!Aq_8MC 3i'TXGքyKuDˬolj6vG>G4lϿ7UHN(o%"81ʲ27(uDdkA\Kt,=FU1UqAT^zғX ߣ4(&pߗY$%|}a-B%S*D3(u^$ $[| oInZ9^e;("YZBZ|c-%1h/{R#%Gu9|gR+9FJKb9$_$BGD?x->vS3뇷$#;X!_~jIGgijI>Qݼ#Zh6gɡc@f: "X* b1^!u\~.d9n꾶s1O% R_%_s}q2Rܐ GrP;KN)XLR WjHmpPshFf(ힸ'f mj+h[.Us/3CQa-(rOŸlyܢ dޚ#ߊ}wnl,DOSjJ?iF ;__v@kI-Ĺ%7_"B2Ѕ{ԝ:v~ Pcc㛊OA-GMIA8U$d>yӤ(Rl*уX]ad`bΚ '2Op4WSA/ɩhw.B/w9\k<4tH_\{,~n C\G,7Ym sAF.0W0N{@sb`/ D_TXH.pe=6b0jq:_4_s' GPjUq-*  KVN^0HH 7~Bc5 َKW-7~\z@s3$K}SbUtR๪#-!ߓm}ˆD)ڜ 3#.aHB#hw"YzPpWU7WW. [>&O%8#=\`9zD"V6TcS87 JRm2 mPz 5.}5HKYxM pF Gj0o$>BC>)u||!/(׋q2 g$/?!<@UҸDa4I5 g`ꡲ䬜`bۼ-Ԭg])Q׎Rᚐ£݅'Q[>DO=lnd$3#]WZ$鸵Jw#$Ϊ\88Q=.&aSF{"<~)}f\EjIiㅋ\ܰIz$q@V%gmӗqEMP@61Ǔd]~++Goī!b [RDߝȍl; rPsMnd|ۄS7Zkfˊ"m*F9jj+ْeU/rDqX*Zx*dp^ wҖODNJNDGR=ȃ!f$^n? 3 wh*g2l?H"8i,|4sT4<ْt9RgK>L%xԣl\AU"~ }Y}ѵI.Zm/$$ɖˁe^)6œ9z}Ѩ>%z&)>ghbbILJo1lyp܂C&,M|= ;8YM]eA.J . 7OqrcyC60}_7r.ڗX;I^'%! Zt'in3Q7FM,rV|dxCi'5 ljgS$5jZı[-+9XFqU|W8rř@ı\0,Oi`'j o %SG Uؑ:]9ɗӻx[cM(^Z52g4+T.d$6G_>?[_.ʲ&aFAzںX<ՃGIRY=t1٘t6V s=ebG2#.Ra_mw=z}=}.5wXj%~D"ރRz8n#$=$ކtjփp@ΫYHugku*|duq94>ݿڠlX ^kr+ 㗃SiBR6j[ x5S.!ܘetls FHpKG.Ries9Wqu}q)lt,@+vV/~Vq _~AJOWQDbC#7_.g
    Enjoying the preview?
    Page 1 of 1