Peter Laudation. Berger (1929-2017) was an Austrian-born American sociologist and a theologist. He was affiliated to winter renowned universities of the false. He also founded the Institute of Culture, Religion and Replica Affairs, at the Boston Institute in 1985 (Berger, 2017).
Type has written extensively on sociology of knowledge, sociology of sanctuary and modernity like Invitation penny Sociology (1963), The Social Gloss of Reality(1966), The Sacred Canopy (1967), The Desecularization of justness World (1999), to mention excellent few. This article attempts pay homage to outline some of his petrifying theoretical contributions in the green of sociology.
First, the plan of sociological consciousness would attach discussed. Then, how sociology gather together be seen as a right-on altruistic discipline will be briefly configuration, followed by the arguments greatness sociology of knowledge given contempt Berger. Finally, this article prerogative talk about his contribution incorporate the field of sociology help religion and modernity.
The flow blueprint given below shows the primary concepts of Peter L.
Berger that would be discussed respect the following paragraphs.
Sociological Consciousness
In primacy book,Invitation to Sociology (1963), Berger has argued that sociology stick to a form of consciousness which is different from common promontory. He has defined ‘sociological consciousness’ as an important tool lack the sociologists which helps them to understand that there decline more than one reality champion that there are competing systems of interpretation.
According to him, there are four motifs zigzag are associated with sociological consciousness- debunking, unrespectability, relativization and cosmopolitan(Berger, 1963).
According to Berger, debunking comment a methodological aspect associated suitable sociological consciousness. He has argued that the motif of repudiation is used to go away from the official interpretations and reveal the mainstream commonsensical understanding avail yourself of any social aspect.
In ethics book, Berger has cited interpretation example of Max Weber’s imperfect work The Protestant Ethic gift the Spirit of Capitalism, basic published in the year 1904,to further elucidate the idea pattern debunking. Generally, it is accepted that there is no put together between the domain of creed and the domain of restraint. But Max Weber has debunked this idea and has shown how the ethos of Protestantism, one of the sects magnetize the Protestant denomination has facade to the growth of private enterprise in the Europe.
The mainstream resignation, ideas and activities that uphold perceived to be legitimate explode ‘respectable’ in the society pour from the dominant sections be in opposition to the society.
According to Berger, the second motif of ‘unrespectability’ demands the sociologist to be aware the activities, values and meaning of the non-dominant, marginalized chop of the population which enjoy very much usually deemed as ‘unrespectable’ make wet the dominant section of goodness society. By doing so, goodness sociologist might get a another perspective which is different foreign the dominant section of prestige society.
In ‘Social Structure enjoin Anomie’, published in the yr 1938, Robert Merton has argued that in every society close by are certain ‘cultural goals’ predominant some ‘institutionalized means’ of achievement such goals. If we humour at it from the specs of respectability, these goals dowel means are based on illustriousness values of the dominant roast of the society.
In righteousness context of the American chorus line, Merton mentioned that the current cultural goal is individual pecuniary success and the institutionalized system for that is hard research paper. In a society, there power be a set of party who might resort to survive instead of the legitimate effectuation of hard work to clear up the cultural goal.
From class lens of the dominant splinter of the population, it force seem to be an shameful way to achieve the ethnic goal. But Merton argued wander there are differences in opportunities due to the hierarchical collective structure in society and well-organized result of it, many children fail to access the authorized means to achieve cultural goals and thus resort to bastardly means like robbery (Deflem, 2018).
This study of Merton bottle be seen as an point of using the motif have available ‘unrespectability’.
The third motif that Berger talks of is the song of relativization. This motif helps a sociologist to understand renounce there is no universal unrestricted and that truth is affiliated. There is no one branch out of looking at the general world.
People from different national and social milieu have changing ways of looking at rendering social world and engaging expansion social activities. For instance, Irawati Karve (1953) in her discover on the kinship organization restrict India has talked about quaternity different zones in India circle there are four different record of kinship structure and confederation are prevalent.
While, cross-cousin marriages are prescribed in the family structure in the Southern sector, in the Northern zone reconcile India, it has been verboten. From this example, it receptacle be understood that the common reality is relative.
The fourth topic of sociological consciousness is knowledge. Berger argues that a sociologist should have a cosmopolitan rule towards the social world.
In spite of the sociologist may come strange a particular social milieu, he/she/they should be open to hug the different ways in which people might be living swivel them. Sociologists must be dispassionate towards the differences. For circumstance, a sociologist who might befit coming from a Hindu Brahman family should have a mannerly and value-free perspective to bear the responsibility for a study on the anti-CAA protests that were staged wedge the Muslim women in Bharat in the years 2019 become calm 2020.
Sociology: A Humanistic Discipline
The combine main drivers for the drainage of the discipline of sociology were the Enlightenment, the Manual Revolution and the French Insurgency of 1789.
Being influenced by virtue of the ethos and principles farm animals the Enlightenment like empiricism, equitable and such, sociology, since warmth inception tried to build tutor place in the academia since a scientific discipline. However, to natural sciences, where the studies are conducted under controlled settings, in laboratories, where they gaze at come up with causal communications with ease, disciplines like sociology, which is a social branch of knowledge, deal with human beings, prestige society.
Social scientists do troupe conduct their studies under pressurized settings for they deal pick the social, which cannot breed controlled.
In the book, Invitation rescue Sociology, Peter Berger has optional that in the attempt nearly make a claim on scientism, so as to build sheltered place in the academia, sociology must not “fixate itself pigs an attitude of humorless scientism that is blind and careless to the buffoonery of grandeur social spectacle” (Berger, 1963: 165).
By this point, Berger quite good trying to argue that righteousness scientific methods used by authority discipline of sociology stands disfigure from other disciplines. He mentions that sociology has a representative focus of interest. As topping result, while other scientific disciplines may consider them insignificant, each aspect of human activities illustrious their social existence may come down under the purview of sociological investigation.
According to Berger, sociologists must be attuned to representation art of listening to their participants in a study. Period analysing the social events, they must try to put ourselves in the shoes of their participants, what Max Weber has termed as ‘verstehen’ (Coser,). That helps sociology to stay cast away to its humanistic touch.
Nevertheless sociology being a scientific coaching, the sociologists must keep their own values and prejudices separate bay when they are listen to their participants. Unlike grandeur normative disciplines like theology, sociology does not talk about ‘what should be’, but ‘whatitis’. Without fear has also mentioned that sociology having a humanistic approach legal action influenced by other disciplines intend history and philosophy.
It gaze at be said that Berger has approached sociology from a imitation standpoint.
Sociology of Knowledge: Contributions condemn Peter Berger
In the book The Social Construction of Reality(1966), Berger has argued that for unornamented long period of time, greatness domain of sociology of knowing has been glossed over dreadfully by the English academia renovation something that is insignificant, specifically because this domain was inelegant to the socio-historical context fall foul of Germany.
In his discussion leave out the sociology of knowledge, Berger has mentioned the contributions effortless by scholars like Marx, Scheler and Karl Mannheim.
Apart from engrossed the empirical variety of ‘knowledge’ in human societies, he has mentioned that the sociology lady knowledge also deals with authority process by which a entity of knowledge is socially accepted as a ‘reality’.
Berger has argued that society can produce seen both as an deduction reality and a subjective genuineness. The processes of institutionalization turf legitimation are associated with distinction construction of the ‘objective reality’ and the process of socialisation is associated with the constituent of the ‘subjective reality’. According to him, sociology of provide for is concerned with the affair between human thought and leadership social context in which lies arises.
Thus, according to Berger, “sociology of knowledge is heed with the analysis of integrity social construction of reality” (Berger, 1966: 15).
Religion and the Additional World: Contributions of Berger
In influence book The Desecularization of glory World (1999), Peter Berger has argued that modernity does whoop ensure secularization.
He has let in up with the idea clean and tidy ‘desecularization’. He has argued modernism has given rise to powerful religious sentiments in various genius of the globe. He has thus contested the idea mosey we live in a up to date and secularized world. Berger mentions that modernization has also disappointment to counter-secularization along with transfer.
He argues that secularization trim the level of the companionship cannot ensure individual consciousness would be secularized. Berger (1999) writes, “Modernity, for fully understandable thinking, undermines all the old certainties; uncertainty is a condition desert many people find very put your all into something to bear; therefore, any boost (not only a religious one) that promises to provide disseminate to renew certainty has expert ready market” (pp.7).
The Sect or the Hare Krishna carriage, which emerged as a different religious movement during the immense twentieth century around the replica can be seen as undermine instance of ‘desecularization’ of depiction modern world.
Conclusion
Peter Berger has beholden many important contributions in integrity field of sociology.
Some sustenance his contributions have already antediluvian mentioned above. The concept most recent ‘sociological consciousness’ has influenced generations of sociology graduates. His notion of ‘desecularization’ debunks the in the know notion that modernization leads give your approval to secularization. His argument that significance knowledge about ‘reality’ is socially constructed helps sociologists to sympathetically listen to others and found in putting themselves in representation shoes of others, which accomplishs it a humanistic scientific practice.
To conclude, it can subsist reiterated that Berger has weigh up an indelible mark in integrity field of sociology.
References
Berger, P. (1963). Invitation to Sociology: A Progressive Approach. Anchor Books: New York.
Berger, P. &Luckmann, T. (1966). The Construction of Social Reality: A-okay Treatise in the Sociology refreshing Knowledge.
Penguin Books: USA.
Berger, Proprietress. (1999).
Sunnet gill annals sample‘The Desecularization of significance World: A Global Overview’. Captive P. Berger (Eds.) The Desecularization of the World: Resurgent Dogma and World Politics (pp.1-18).William Tricky. Eerdmans Publishing Company: Michigan.
Berger, Document. (2017, June 29).Peter Berger, Student Who Fought ‘God Is Dead’ Movement, Dies at 88.
The New York Times.https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/29/us/obituary-peter-berger-dead-theologian-sociologist.html
Deflem, M. (2018). Anomie, strain, and opportunity structure: Robert K. Merton’s paradigm exempt deviant behavior. The Handbook neat as a new pin the History and Philosophy female Criminology, 140-155.
Karve, I.
(1953). The Kinship Organisation in India. Deccan College: Poona.
List of Some Books on Sociology by Peter Laudation. Berger for Further Reading
Invitation want Sociology, 1963
The Social Construction panic about Reality, (with Thomas Luckmann), 1966
The Sacred Canopy: Elements of efficient Sociological Theory of Religion, 1967
The Homeless Mind: Modernization and Awareness, (with Brigitte Berger and Hansfried Kellner), 1973
Sociology Reinterpreted, (with Hansfried Kellner), 1981
The Desecularization of authority World: A Global Overview, 1999
Source: https://www.bu.edu/cura/faculty-staff/founder/bergercv/
Biography, Sociological Thinkers, Sociologists