The Social Construction of Reality: A Treatise in the Sociology of Knowledge
by Peter L. Berger
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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 148)
This book can make your eyes cross if you try to read it too fast. I gave it 4 stars because I think it's a great, comprehensive explanation of the sociological perspective. However, I give it 1 star for overall enjoyability. If you are going to read anything by Berger, go with The Sacred Canopy. It's much more rewarding.
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Read in December, 2004
I read this back in my junior year of high school along with several others by the author, but my mind comes back to it again and again. It is both an insightful and a readable exploration of how society builds plausibility structures and colors our perception of reality.
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One of the first books that really opened my eyes to epistemology and the sociology of knowledge. A must-read for anyone who wants to understand the social construction of knowledge and reality.
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Has a copy to sell/swap
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Read in March, 2007
recommends it for:
people who like to base jump while eating a scorpion filled with pcp
it'll blow your brains to the back of this auditorium!
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Read in July, 2007
Wow. The rumors are true. A damn fine piece of work.
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I'm reading this for a class at school (like all the other books on my currently-reading shelf) and it is painful. I don't fully understand it until we have discussed it in class but it is full of ideas that I've never come across before and that change the way I think about knowledge and reality. The language is definitely from the 1960's though, apparently the only people who think about such things are men.
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Read in September, 2007
recommends it for:
theoretical geeks...
the essence of this book is the epistemology of society. starting from the formation of society to the continuous growth of it. essentially speaking, berger reduced society to a collective of constructed beliefs about a particular thing.
well, it's an interesting book, and an essential read for sociology freaks. however, it's quite an old book and most of the current sociology was seen by a postmodernist perspective. berger's perspective was useful if you're trying to view the society as a pl...more
well, it's an interesting book, and an essential read for sociology freaks. however, it's quite an old book and most of the current sociology was seen by a postmodernist perspective. berger's perspective was useful if you're trying to view the society as a pl...more
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A sociologist's book on epistemology. While not everyone I share the ideas with agrees with them, most everyone agrees that this book provides some of the most useful tools for identifying different ways of thinking about reality that they've ever seen. I'm rereading the book now, so I'll likely further expand on this once I'm through, but I can't recommend it enough as a source of valuable intro- and extro- spection about the world that we create through our understanding.
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A must read for anyone interested in multiple realities and the objective, subjective, and intersubjective construction and reconstruction of reality. The book delves into concepts derived from Berger's early work with Alfred Schutz.
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Read in September, 1999
the other core book of my college career. also shocked and horrified that it is also no longer in the curriculum. though i do wish i had read some bordieux which i think is what they read now instead.
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finishing this deusy up...beautiful theory.
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Read in January, 2004
If you like Sociology, you'll like this book. It discusses the Soc of Knowledge, something I find interesting. I read it in college, and then read it again in '06.
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No pineapple-humping society can long survive.
But what if both women spend all their time gathering flowers? How will the man feel?
I'm an idiot.
But what if both women spend all their time gathering flowers? How will the man feel?
I'm an idiot.
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Rereading this currently. I'm really enjoying the second half, dealing with social reality as subjective reality; systems of socialization, etc.
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