Berger and Luckmann argue that reality is not an objective given, but a product of social interaction. They examine how shared, everyday knowledge—proverbs, morals, values, and beliefs—is created, maintained, and changed within a society. This "social construction" of reality is not an abstract philosophical concept but a lived, commonsense process.
The book introduces the term "social construction" to explain how individuals collectively build and legitimize their understanding of the world. It details the mechanisms by which this shared knowledge becomes the basis of social order and personal identity. Readers learn how everyday interactions solidify what is considered real.
Key concepts
- Social construction — The process by which reality is collectively created and maintained through social interaction.
- Sociology of knowledge — The study of the relationship between human thought and the social environment in which it occurs.
- Commonsense knowledge — The shared, everyday understanding and beliefs of ordinary people.
Popular questions readers ask
- How would you explain the core idea of "social construction" and why Berger and Luckmann's focus on "commonsense, everyday knowledge" represented a "major breakthrough" in sociology, especially to someone unfamiliar with the field?
- The text states Berger and Luckmann went "beyond intellectual history." What does this imply about earlier sociological or philosophical approaches to knowledge, and how does their shift fundamentally alter our understanding of how knowledge truly functions in society?
- If knowledge is primarily "socially constructed" from "everyday beliefs," what are the practical implications for understanding concepts like objective truth, individual agency, or the possibility of social change within a society?
- Consider the statement that knowledge is "preserved and altered within a society." How might the mechanisms of "social construction" facilitate both the preservation and the alteration of knowledge simultaneously? What inherent tensions or dynamics does this suggest?
- Given that "social construction" is described as transforming "Western philosophy," identify at least one traditional philosophical assumption about reality or truth that would be fundamentally challenged by Berger and Luckmann's ideas.