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Peter L. Berger

The Social Construction of Reality: A Treatise in the Sociology of Knowledge Paperback – July 11, 1967

by Peter L. Berger (Author), Thomas Luckmann (Author)

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Called the "fifth-most important sociological book of the 20th century" by the International Sociological Association, this groundbreaking study of knowledge introduces the concept of "social construction" into the social sciences for the first time. In it, Berger and Luckmann reformulate the task of the sociological subdicipline that, since Max Scheler, has been known as the sociology of knowledge.

Print length

219 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Anchor
Publication date

July 11, 1967
Dimensions

5.2 x 0.55 x 8 inches
ISBN-10

9780385058988
ISBN-13

978-0385058988
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"... A major breakthrough in the sociology of knowledge." -- American Sociological Review.

From the Publisher

This book reformulates the sociological subdiscipline known as the sociology of knowledge. Knowledge is presented as more than ideology, including as well false consciousness, propaganda, science and art. "... A major breakthrough in the sociology of knowledge." -- American Sociological Review.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ 0385058985
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Anchor (July 11, 1967)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 219 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 9780385058988
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0385058988
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 6 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.2 x 0.55 x 8 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #122,701 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #84 in Social Philosophy
- #273 in Evolution (Books)
- #281 in Cultural Anthropology (Books)

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4.4 461 ratings

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Peter L. Berger

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Peter L. Berger (Boston, MA) is University Professor of Sociology, Emeritus, at Boston University and the founder and Senior Research Fellow of the Institute on Culture, Religion, and World Affairs. He has written numerous books on sociological theory, the sociology of religion, and Third World development. Among his more recent books are In Praise of Doubt (with Anton Zijderveld); Religious America, Secular Europe? (with Grace Davie and Effie Fokas); Questions of Faith; Many Globalizations (edited with Samuel Huntington); and Redeeming Laughter: The Comic Dimension of Human Experience. Professor Berger has received honorary degrees from Loyola University, University of Notre Dame, University of Geneva, University of Munich, Sofia University, and Renmin University of China.

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farington

Decent intoduction to sociology of knowledge

Reviewed in the United States on December 11, 2020

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I found this book to develop some ideas I first encountered in Durkheim's "Elementary Forms of Religious Belief", the notion that "reality" is a function of social organization. The authors assume that social reality begins with practical necessity--that social roles are established in accordance with what the tribe needs for survivial, and that this man-made assignment of functions nevertheless is viewed as the objective order of things, existing outside of man. This is what the authors call the "dialectic" of social reality. A person is raised in a society, receiving from parents what the authors call "primary socialization", the social structure is taught to them and interalized as "the way things are". In a complex society, as a person matures he or she will engage in "secondary socialization", learning the "reality" of particular roles (e.g. occupation) which impart identity.
One of the interesting points raised by the authors was whether it is possible for someone to ever fully socialize into a foreign culture, their primary socialization in their native land perhaps remaining predominant. And they provide an interesting interpretation of how social nonconformity arises: a clash between social norms and the content of a divergent primary socialization.
There are a number of deeper philosophical issues that the authors don't address, which is fine because this is a study of the workings of society and it has a practical bent. For instance the authors speak about identity as it's shaped by society, but not how the self a function of interaction with the Other. It's not an epistemological inquiry into how knowing is possible. It also doesn't delve into the underlying nature of human use of symbols--it just says that symbols make communal interaction easier. So "reality" is a bigger notion than what's covered in this book, but the book's insightful into how a particular and fundamental bit of "reality" is shaped.
The book is mostly jargon-free and readable. Sometimes the authors take a few pages to explain something they could cover in a paragraph, but on the whole it's not badly written.

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Jordan Bell

The sociology of knowledge

Reviewed in the United States on February 19, 2017

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This is a rich compact book. I came across it while doing reading on epistemology. This book is well suited for an organized reading group. It is short but dense and should probably both be read slowly and read again. I have read it without the benefit of a reading group. Until I have read the book again, the best summary I can give is the following passages from the book.

“It will be enough, for our purposes, to define ‘reality’ as a quality appertaining to phenomena that we recognize as having a being independent of our own volition (we cannot ‘wish them away’), and to define ‘knowledge’ as the certainty that phenomena are real and that they possess specific characteristics.”

“It is our contention, then, that the sociology of knowledge must concern itself with whatever passes for ‘knowledge’ in a society, regardless of the ultimate validity or invalidity (by whatever criteria) of such ‘knowledge.’ And insofar as all human ‘knowledge’ is developed, transmitted and maintained in social situations, the sociology of knowledge must seek to understand the processes by which this is done in such a way that a taken-for-granted ‘reality’ congeals for the man in the street. In other words, we contend that the sociology of knowledge is concerned with the analysis of the social construction of reality.”

“The theoretical formulations of reality, whether they be scientific or philosophical or even mythological, do not exhaust what is ‘real’ for the members of a society. Since this is so, the sociology of knowledge must first of all concern itself with what people ‘know’ as ‘reality’ in their everyday, non- or pre-theoretical lives. In other words, commonsense ‘knowledge’ rather than ‘ideas’ must be the central focus for the sociology of knowledge. It is precisely this ‘knowledge’ that constitutes the fabric of meanings without which no society could exist.”

Two earlier writers on the sociology of knowledge cited by Berger and Luckmann are Karl Mannheim, Ideology and Utopia: An Introduction to the Sociology of Knowledge and Werner Stark, The Sociology of Knowledge: Toward a Deeper Understanding of the History of Ideas .

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Enrique H.

Excelent book

Reviewed in Mexico on August 10, 2022

Verified Purchase

great thinking. As the author said once again. In science as in love , concentration in techenique produces impotence.

Sumit Mukherjee

Book quality review

Reviewed in India on June 6, 2023

Verified Purchase

The media could not be loaded.

Amazon charged 489 for the book. It is a thin book without a hardcover and looks like a cheap photocopy of the original book.

Georg H.

Good introduction to social constructionism but poorly written

Reviewed in Germany on May 4, 2023

Verified Purchase

The book covers some history on social constructionism and explains the reasoning behind social constructionism. The book implicitly assumes the blank slate theory to be true so it might be difficult to follow the reasoning for people that have a more balanced take on the nature vs nurture debate.

As typical for works in sociology and especially social constructionism, the book has a lot of jargon and is generally poorly written. The criticism of functionalism is especially odd as the authors dismiss the entire approach by essentially strawmannirg the approach.

I give it 3 stars because the content is helpful in understanding how social constructionists reason

red wolf

For anyone interested in sociology and epistemology in general.

Reviewed in Italy on February 8, 2021

Verified Purchase

For anyone interested in Social Sciences. IMHO one of the most insightful books ever written comparable to The Structure of Scientific Revolution by Thomas Kuhn. Just brilliant.

Client d'Amazon

Ouvrage indispensable pour qui veut comprendre l'ontologie constructiviste.

Reviewed in France on June 15, 2017

Verified Purchase

Oeuvre séminale, limpide et complète, aux fondements de la plupart des travaux souscrivant à une ontologie constructiviste (selon laquelle, pour faire court, la réalité sociale est un produit de la société).
Lecture indispensable, agréable et stimulante.
Quant à l'objet, la version "paperback" est tout à fait satisfaisante, portable et solide, même si le papier peut avoir un aspect un peu rugueux.

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