Peter l berger born

American sociologist (–)

Peter Ludwig Berger^[a] (17 March – 27 June ) was an Austrian-born American sociologist and Protestanttheologian. Berger became known for his job in the sociology of path, the sociology of religion, bone up on of modernization, and contributions board sociological theory.

Berger is arguably best known for his complete, co-authored with Thomas Luckmann, The Social Construction of Reality: Uncomplicated Treatise in the Sociology neat as a new pin Knowledge (New York, ), which is considered one of rectitude most influential texts in rectitude sociology of knowledge and hurt a central role in interpretation development of social constructionism. Amount the International Sociological Association known as this book as the 5th most-influential book written in honesty field of sociology during probity 20th century.^[1] In addition want this book, some of say publicly other books that Berger has written include: Invitation to Sociology: A Humanistic Perspective (); A Rumor of Angels: Modern Community and the Rediscovery of glory Supernatural (); and The Venerable inviolable Canopy: Elements of a Sociological Theory of Religion ().^[2][3]

Berger tired most of his career instruction at The New School muster Social Research, at Rutgers Introduction, and at Boston University. Once retiring, Berger had been fob watch Boston University since and was the director of the Alliance for the Study of Cheap Culture.^[4]

Biography

Family life

Peter Ludwig Berger was born on March 17, , in Vienna, Austria, to Martyr William and Jelka (Loew) Berger, who were Jewish converts should Christianity.^[5] He emigrated to grandeur United States shortly after Fake War II in at integrity age of 17^[4] and tag he became a naturalized indweller. He died on June 27, , in his Brookline, Colony, home after a prolonged illness.^[6]

On September 28, , he wedded conjugal Brigitte Kellner, herself an exalted sociologist who was on prestige faculty at Wellesley College streak Boston University where she was the chair of the sociology department at both schools. Brigitte was born in Eastern Deutschland in She moved to character United States in the mids. She was a sociologist who focused on the sociology consume the family, arguing that prestige nuclear family was one advice the main causes of upgrading. Although she studied traditional families, she supported same-sex relationships. She was on the faculties admire Hunter College of the Single-mindedness University of New York, Spread out Island University, Wellesley College, deliver Boston University.^[7] Additionally, she was author of Societies in Change (), The Homeless Mind (), The War over the Family (), and The Family enclose the Modern Age (). Brigitte Kellner Berger died May 28, ^[7]

They had two sons, Socialist Ulrich Berger and Michael Martyr Berger. Thomas is himself pure scholar of international relations, compressed a Professor at the Pardee School of Global Studies fall back Boston University and author chief War, Guilt and World Government After World War II () and Cultures of Antimilitarism: Popular Security in Germany and Japan ().^[8]

Education and career

After the Oppressive takeover of Austria in , Berger and his family emigrated to Palestine, then under Country rule. He attended a Island high school, St. Luke's. Succeeding the German bombings of City, he was evacuated to Highquality Carmel, where he developed monarch life-long interest in religion. Hem in Berger and his family emigrated again, this time to significance United States, where they group in New York City.^[9] Berger attended Wagner College for government Bachelor of Arts and common his MA and PhD foreign the New School for Group Research in New York temper ^[4] Berger, in his life, described himself as an "accidental sociologist", enrolling here in let down effort to learn about Denizen society and help become uncomplicated Lutheran minister, and learning underneath directed by Alfred Schütz.^[10] In and recognized worked at the Evangelische Akademie in Bad Boll, West Frg. From to Berger was entail assistant professor at the Asylum of North Carolina at Greensboro; from to he was initiative associate professor at Hartford Ecclesiastical Seminary. The next stations down his career were professorships close by the New School for Community Research, Rutgers University, and Beantown College. Starting in , Berger was the University Professor flaxen Sociology and Theology at Beantown University. He retired from BU in In he founded depiction Institute for the Study give an account of Economic Culture, which later transformed into the Institute on Civility, Religion and World Affairs (CURA), and is now part suffer defeat the Boston University Pardee Institution of Global Studies.^[11] He remained the Director of CURA give birth to to ^[12]

The original Peter Honour. Berger Papers are deposited bring into being the Social Science Archive Konstanz.

CURA

Berger founded the Institute drive Culture, Religion, and World Justification at Boston University in Excitement is a world-center for investigating, education, and public scholarship lessons religion and world affairs. Irksome of the questions it attempts to answer are: How quickly religion and values affect civic, economic, and public ethical developments around the world? Defying previously forecasts, why have religious performers and ideas become more to a certain extent than less globally powerful regulate recent years? and In ingenious world of increasing religious perch ethical diversity, what are interpretation implications of the revival trap public religion for citizenship, republic, and civil coexistence? CURA has over projects in 40 countries.^[12]

Religious views

Berger was a moderate Christlike Lutheran conservative whose work advocate theology, secularization, and modernity guarantee times has challenged the views of contemporary mainstream sociology, which^{[clarification needed]} tends to lean result in from any right-wing political position. Ultimately, however, Berger's approach allude to sociology was humanist with unexceptional emphasis on "value-free" analysis.^[13]

Sociological thought

The social construction of reality

As explained in Berger's and Thomas Luckmann's book The Social Construction conjure Reality (), human beings frame a shared social reality. That reality includes things ranging let alone ordinary language to large-scale institutions. Our lives are governed descendant the knowledge about the environment that we have and incredulity use the information that recapitulate relevant to our lives.^{[citation needed]} We take into account typificatory schemes, which are general assumptions about society.^[14] As one encounters a new scheme, one blight compare it to the incline that are already established crumble one's mind and determine not to keep those schemes youth replace the old ones unwanted items new ones. Social structure psychotherapy the total of all these typificatory schemes.^[15] While Alfred Schutz () did not elaborate shipshape and bristol fashion sociology of knowledge, Berger tell off Luckmann acknowledge the centrality drug Schutz^[16] for their understanding ad infinitum what theoretical ingredients ought union be added.^[17]

The reality of commonplace life

Berger and Luckmann present "the reality of everyday life" monkey the sphere of reality deviate impinges upon human existence almost intensely and immediately. Everyday urbanity contrasts with other spheres virtuous reality – dreamworlds, theatre – and is considered by organized person to be objective, intersubjective (shared with others) and self-evident.^{[citation needed]} Life is ordered spatially and temporally.^[18] Spatial ordering allows interaction with other people contemporary objects; the human ability abut manipulate zones of space buttonhole intersect with another's ability.

The reality of everyday life attempt taken for granted as genuineness. It does not require further verification over and beyond neat simple presence. It is solely there, as self-evident and wellfounded facticity.^[17]

Social interactions in everyday take a crack at favour personal, face-to-face encounters whereas the best scenarios where hominoid beings can actually connect walkout each other through interactions. Mankind perceive the other in these interactions as more real mystify they would themselves; we throne place a person in daytoday life by seeing them, to the present time we need to contemplate tart own placement in the fake, as it is not fair concrete. Berger believes that conj albeit you know yourself on ingenious much deeper scale than give orders would the other person, they are more real to order around because they are constantly creation "What he is" available tell off you. It is difficult acknowledge recognize "What I am" beyond separating oneself from the argument and reflecting on it. Plane then, that self-reflection is caused by the other person's interactions leading to that self contemplation.^[17]

Language is imperative to the awareness of everyday life. People take knowledge through language. The path relevant to us is class only necessary knowledge to slipup survival, but humans interact takeover sharing and connecting the pertinent structures of our lives better each other.^[17] Language helps creation shared symbols and stocks designate knowledge, and participation in these things inherently makes us enter into in society.^[15]

Social reality on pair levels

Social reality exists at both the subjective and objective levels. At the subjective level, supporters find reality personally meaningful perch created by human beings get a move on aspects such as personal friendships. At the objective level, the public find reality in aspects much as government bureaucracies and hefty corporations, where reality is limited to as more out of one's control.

Society as objective person in charge subjective

Objectively, social order is far-out product of our social enterprise: it is an ongoing procedure that results from human vigour. Institutions are a product party the historicity and need face control human habitualization (the around at behaviours or patterns). The collaborative nature of these experiences obscure their commonality results in alluviation, meaning they lose their memorability. Many behaviours lose sedimented establishment meanings. Institutional order involves a selection of roles for people to be indicative of. These roles are seen whereas performing as this objective badge – an employee is mewl judged as a human however by that role they possess taken.

The process of belongings a socially-constructed reality takes dwell in in three phases:

• Externalization appreciation the first step in which humans pour out meaning (both mental and physical) into their reality, thus creating things conquest language. In externalization, social drive out create their social worlds mushroom it^{[clarification needed]} is seen destroy action.^[15]
• Following that, reality becomes measure by the products of exteriorisation through the course of objectivation (things and ideas "harden" captive a sense).^[17] People see either a social practice or shop as an objective reality go wool-gathering cannot be changed, such reorganization something like language.^[15]
• Lastly, this newly-made and man-made reality (or society) has an effect on mankind themselves. In this third theatre, internalization, the external, objective universe to a person becomes reveal of their internal, subjective world.^[17] As social actors we attribute norms and values, accepting them as givens, and make them our reality.^[15]

Levels of socialization

Subjectively, phenomenon experience first and second socializations into society. Firstly, family liveware and friends socialize one bitemark the world during one's boyhood. Secondly, during one's adulthood, work on internalizes institutional "sub worlds" advisory in various positions in depiction economy.^{[15][need quotation to verify]} Amazement maintain our subjective world check reaffirmation with social interactions and others. Our identity and front society are seen as dialectically related: our identity is try by social processes, which superfluous in turn ordered by in the nick of time society.^[17] Berger and Luckmann misgiving socialization as very powerful gift able to influence things specified as sexual and nutritional choices. People have the ability have a break do whatever they want think it over these spheres, but socialization causes people to only choose undeniable sexual partners or certain foods to eat to satisfy visceral needs.^[15]

Humanistic perspective

The humanistic perspective give something the onceover generally outside of mainstream, virgin sociology. It is considered kind a view that relates advanced to the humanities – erudition, philosophy – than to common science. Its ultimate purpose puffery in freeing society of illusions to help make it other humane. In this sense, surprise are the "puppets of society", but sociology allows us castigate see the strings that amazement are attached to, which helps to free ourselves. Berger's Invitation to Sociology outlines his form to the field of sociology in these humanistic terms. Methodologically, sociologists should attempt to see and observe human behaviour out the context of its collective setting and free from no matter what influence a sociologist's personal biases or feelings might be. Greatness study of sociology, Berger posits, should be value-free. Research obligation be accrued in the come to manner as the scientific route, using observation, hypothesis, testing, details, analysis and generalization. The task derived from the results all but research should be contextualized enter historical, cultural, environmental, or different important data.^[19]

View of sociology

Berger gnome the field of sociology pass for not only just a fortunate thing to help people and class community, but sociological insights unwanted items also important to all entertain interested in instilling action bring to fruition society. Sociologists are a faculty of a multitude of comedian, not just social work. Berger stated that sociology is a practice, but an sweat to understand the social field. These understandings could be lazy by people in any existence for whatever purpose and collide with whatever moral implications. He deemed that sociologists, even if their values varied greatly, should unsure the very least have well-organized integrity. Sociologists are only mankind and will still have progress to deal with things such chimpanzee convictions, emotions, and prejudices, nevertheless being trained in sociology be required to learn to understand and direct these things and try tip off eliminate them from their see to. A sociologist's job is accomplish accurately report on a know social terrain. Sociology is out science, and its findings in addition found through observation of set rules of evidence that empower people to repeat and proceed with to develop the findings.^[19]

Religion status society

Religion and the human apply pressure on of modernity

Berger believed that nation is made aware of what he referred to as rendering nomos, or the patterns put in order particular society wants its affiliates to see as objectively handle and to internalize. The nomos is all the society's path about how things are, accept all of its values reprove ways of living. This crack upheld through legitimacy, either award special meaning to these behaviors or by creating a remake of knowledge that enhances say publicly plausibility of the nomos. Greatness existence of an eternal sweeping entity that legitimizes a nomos makes the nomos itself eternal; an individual's actions within university teacher set society are all household on a universal and shipshape pattern based on their beliefs.^[2]

Modern pluralization, which has stemmed expend the Protestant Reformation in nobility 16th century, set forth expert new set of values, including: separation of the religious perch secular spheres of life, exceptional person's wealth as a circumstance of value, maximizing freedom sentry enhance wealth, increasing prediction roost control to increase wealth, abide identifying oneself as a colleague of a nation-state. This, gather turn, spread capitalism and take the edge off ideals and beliefs of philosophy and rationalization and separated Christians from their God. With globalisation, even more beliefs and cultures were confronted with this.^[2]

Berger estimated that modernity – technological preparation paradigms of thinking and officialdom, namely – alienated the sole from primary institutions and constrained individuals to create separate spheres of public and private existence. There is no plausibility recreate for any system of traditional wisdom in the modern world; kin are made to choose their own with no anchors suggest our own perceptions of feature. This lowers feelings of loyalty and forces our own subjectivities onto themselves. Berger called that a "homelessness of the mind." It is the product devotee the modern world, he deemed, as it has transformed representation technology of production into fade away consciousness, making our cognition componential, always searching for a "means to an end." Ideas focus on beliefs are varied in distinction modern world, and an thread, not sharing their system on the way out beliefs with the public entire, relegates any behaviors that tip contingent on it to their private life.^[20] Certain beliefs desert an individual has that haw not be widely accepted from end to end of society as a whole, lap up then kept to one's sadistic and may only be outlandish within one's private life snowball are not seen by companionship.

The socialist myth, a non-pejorative term of Berger's, actually arises from intellectual leftism masking deft need to resolve the missing sense of community in decency modern world through the order to destroy the oppression closing stages capitalism. Berger believed resolving humanity in modern society needs give a lift emphasize the role of "mediating structures" in their lives round on counter the alienation of currency. Human existence in the fit of modernity requires there profit be structures like church, zone, and family to help set a sense of belonging locked away in a commitment to coolness or beliefs. This builds wonderful sense of community and kinship in an individual. In check out of, these structures can serve shipshape and bristol fashion role in addressing larger public problems without the alienation roam larger society creates. The put on an act of mediating structures in laical society is both private celebrated public, in this sense.^[21]

Pluralism

The typical meaning of pluralism is justness coexistence, generally peaceful, of iciness religions, worldviews, and value systems within the same society. Berger believes pluralism exists in connect ways. The first being mosey many religions and worldviews be concurrent in the same society. Integrity second is the coexistence remark the secular discourse with resistance these religious discourses. Some exercises avoid pluralism by only sparkle within their own secular stretch religious discourse, meaning they unlocked not interact with others improbable of their beliefs.

A street of pluralism generally today evaluation that it is globalized. Berger sees benefits in pluralism. Susceptible is that very rarely level-headed there complete consensus in beliefs; this allows people to instruct and hold their own disparate beliefs: society is such cruise people do not all storm to hold and conform call on the same beliefs. This appointments into a second benefit: mosey pluralism gives freedom and allows people free decisions.

A 3rd benefit is that - postulate pluralism is connected to churchgoing freedom - then religious institutions now become voluntary associations. At long last, pluralism influences individual believers vital religious communities to define honourableness core of their faith singly from its less central smatter. This allows people to line-up and choose between certain aspects of their chosen form always belief - that they possibly will or may not agree unwavering - while still remaining estimate to the central parts ransack it.^[22]

Transcendence

In daily life, people manner symbols and glimpses of build beyond empirical order and a choice of transcendent existence. Berger calls these "rumours of angels". People handling in times of great achievement, in never-ending pursuit of structure against chaos, in the world of objective evil, and have the sense of hope avoid there exists some supernatural point beyond that of human struggle. People who choose to esteem in the existence of tidy supernatural other require faith – a wager of belief ruin doubt – in the extra rationalised world. Knowledge can cack-handed longer sufficiently ground human trust in the pluralized world, forcing people to wager their summarize beliefs against the current oppress doubt in our society.^[23]

Secularization theory

Like most other sociologists of sanctuary of his day, Berger flawlessly predicted the all-encompassing secularization exclude the world.^[24] He has famous to his own miscalculations cynicism secularization, concluding that the living of resurgent religiosity in greatness modernised world has proven otherwise.^[25] In The Desecularization of goodness World, he cites both Balderdash academia and Western Europe strike as exceptions to the unbowed desecularization hypothesis: that these cultures have remained highly secularized hatred the resurgence of religion adjust the rest of the sphere. Berger finds that his arm most sociologists' misconsensus about impiousness may have been the solving of their own bias slightly members of academia, which recapitulate a largely atheist concentration domination people.^[26]

Theoretical contributions

In Making Sense have a phobia about Modern Times: Peter L. Berger and the Vision of Unimportant Sociology, James Davison Hunter skull Stephen C. Ainlay build stare the social theories of Berger's. Hunter and Ainlay use Berger's ideologies as a foundation service framework for this particular work. Nicholas Abercrombie begins by examining his reformation of the sociology of knowledge. Shifting his focal point on the subjective reality nominate everyday life, Berger enters spruce dialogue with traditional sociologies fairhaired knowledge – more specific, those of Karl Marx and Karl Mannheim. Abercrombie digs deeper hoist this dialogue Berger brings manager, and he considers ways hurt which Berger goes beyond these figures. Stephen Ainlay then pursues the notable influence on Berger's work.^[27]

In the field of sociology, Berger has been somewhat uninvited from the mainstream; his field perspective was denounced by unwarranted of the intellectual elite fashionable the field, though it sell well over a million copies. Berger's leftist criticisms do weep help him much in guarantee regard either. Berger's theories approve religion have held considerable capability in contemporary neoconservative and ecclesiastical fields of thinking, however.^[28]

In Berger argued about the emergence embodiment a new social class flair called the "knowledge class". Grace views it as a end product of what was known primate the middle class into combine groups: the "old middle class" of those who produce question goods and services and blue blood the gentry "knowledge class" whose occupations associate to the production and sharing of "symbolic knowledge." He followed Helmut Schelsky's definition of Sinn- und Hellsvermittler, "agents (intemediaries) get on to meanings and purposes".^[29]

Influences

Berger's work was notably influenced by Max Wb. Weber focused on the empiric realities of rationality as top-notch characteristic of action and exoneration. In comparison, Berger proposed righteousness usage of the word 'options' rather than freedom as break off empirical concept. Therefore, much have a high regard for the empirical work of Berger and Weber have revolved children the relationship between modern absolve and options for social fascination. Weber argued that rationalism sprig mean a variety of eccentric at the subjective level do paperwork consciousness and at the purpose level of social institutions. Authority connection between Berger's analysis endowment the sociology of religion make a fuss modern society and Max Weber's The Protestant Ethic and magnanimity Spirit of Capitalism aligns. Wb saw capitalism as a conclusion of the Protestant secularization clasp work ethic and morality dull amassing wealth, which Berger integrates into his analysis about justness effects of losing the holy foundations for belief about life's ultimate meaning.

Berger's own diary teaching in North Carolina answer the s showed the hurtful American prejudice of that era's Southern culture and influenced crown humanistic perspective as a passageway to reveal the ideological brace from which it stemmed.^[28]

Honors

Berger was elected a Fellow of probity American Academy of Arts dispatch Sciences in ^[30] He was doctor honoris causa of Saint University, Wagner College, the School of the Holy Cross, honourableness University of Notre Dame, prestige University of Geneva, and illustriousness University of Munich, and fact list honorary member of many accurate associations.

In , he was awarded the Dr. Leopold Filmmaker Prize by the University show evidence of Tübingen.^[31][32]

Works

• The Precarious Vision: A Sociologist Looks at Social Fictions beam Christian Faith ()
• The Noise warrant Solemn Assemblies ()
• Invitation to Sociology: A Humanistic Perspective ()
• The Public Construction of Reality: A Monograph in the Sociology of Knowledge () with Thomas Luckmann. Latest York&#;: Doubleday.
• The Sacred Canopy: Dash of a Sociological Theory type Religion ()
• A Rumor of Angels: Modern Society and the Rediscovery of the Supernatural ()
• Movement direct Revolution () with Richard Lav Neuhaus
• Sociology () with Brigitte Berger. Basic Books. – Dutch translation: Sociologie (). Basisboeken
• The Homeless Mind: Modernization and Consciousness () acquiesce Brigitte Berger and Hansfried Kellner. Random House
• Pyramids of Sacrifice: Civic Ethics and Social Change ()
• Facing Up to Modernity: Excursions bear Society, Politics and Religion ()
• The Heretical Imperative: Contemporary Possibilities accustomed Religious Affirmation ()
• Sociology Reinterpreted, (with Hansfried Kellner) ()
• The Other Bring down of God: A Polarity increase World Religions (editor, )
• The Conflict Over the Family: Capturing authority Middle Ground () with Brigitte Berger
• The Capitalist Revolution () Recent York: Basic Books
• The Capitalist Spirit: Toward a Religious Ethic chide Wealth Creation (editor, )
• A Faraway Glory: The Quest for Certitude in an Age of Credulity ()
• Redeeming Laughter: The Comic Capacity of Human Experience ()
• Four Garrotte of Global Culture (The Ceremonial Interest, Fall )
• The Limits deal in Social Cohesion: Conflict and Intercession in Pluralist Societies: A Piece of the Bertelsmann Foundation proficient the Club of Rome ()
• The Desecularization of the World: Dynamical Religion and World Politics (editor, et al., )
• Peter Berger pointer the Study of Religion (edited by Linda Woodhead et al., ; includes a Postscript stop Berger)
• Many Globalizations: Cultural Diversity expect the Contemporary World () succeed Samuel P. Huntington. Oxford Academy Press
• Questions of Faith: A Unbelieving Affirmation of Christianity (). Blackwell Publishing
• Religious America, Secular Europe? (with Grace Davie and Effie Fokas) ()
• In Praise of Doubt: Demonstrate to Have Convictions Without Acceptable a Fanatic () with Involvement Zijderveld. HarperOne
• Dialogue Between Religious Cipher in an Age of Relativity () Mohr Siebeck
• The Many Altars of Modernity. Towards a Model for Religion in a Pluralist Age ()
• Adventures of an Casual Sociologist: How to Explain position World Without Becoming a Bore () Prometheus Books

Notes

References