Profile: Dr. Peter L. Berger (Social Construction of Reality)

"I think a good sociologist is the kind of person who looks through keyholes and reads other people's mail," says Peter Berger, who is no stranger to the field. Berger's groundbreaking tome The Social Construction of Reality (1966), co-authored with Thomas Luckmann, cemented his reputation as one of the most important thinkers of the twentieth century. The book's claim that our idea of reality emerges through social networks or personal interactions completely revolutionized the way sociology is taught and understood. Indeed the book continues to have important implications for our current high-tech society. In this exclusive new interview, Berger discusses the origins of his interest in sociology and how he came to write The Social Construction of Reality, which is now available as an ebook from Open Road.

[@blazak]

I start every Intro to Sociology class I teach with the Social Construction of Reality. It always blows minds. (Then I end with The Sacred Canopy). Berger is a rock star.

[@GradyPhilpott]

I read "The Social Construction of Reality" 30+ years ago. It did open my eyes with regard to the world I grew up in and the world as it was at the time of my reading, but rather than convincing me that anything goes, as long as enough people agree, it convinced me that there was validity to the traditions that have come down to us from antiquity and the imperative that we humans have to effect change in logical, measured steps toward an improvement of our condition. Maybe that's not what Berger was trying to get me to understand, but it's one of the conclusions that the book led me toward over time.

[@THICKLIPBITCH]

The Social Construction of Reality, is one of my favorite books.

[@venusantar]

an enlightening book, providing a new perspective on how to understand human social life

sharp as usual!

[@oblongtom]

Very interesting book - reads like genius / the ramblings of a madman!

[@pgoggins]

The Social Construction of Reality is a groundbreaking work. We still don't appreciate its impact on modern thought.

[@KizM8]

Amazing book

[@thepalebluedot4171]

Somebody should also write an abridged version of Emile Durkhiem's and Marcel Maus's work "Primitive Classification"

[@juichimizuta]

The fact that this man's writings are not as well known as the books written by Richard Dawkins' or Christopher Hitchens' on the one hand, or Glenn Beck's or Dinesh D'Souza's on the other is very sad...But it also illustrates his point. People seek certainty (taken-for-grantedness) because they are uncomfortable in doubt. Anyone seeking to understand how religion works in society should read "In Praise of Doubt" by Peter Berger and Anton Zijderveld.

[@HenryCasillas]

🌻

[@chous.6972]

Where can I find the whole of this interview?

[@dampudulom3199]

He could be very old now..🥺🥺🥺

[@jradetzky]

cool

[@kqp1998gyy]

🌷

[@sajisnair9354]

Aramaic 😮😛😏🥴

[@jradetzky]

sociologists are the voyeurs of social science