A Slice of the Social Theory of Peter Berger
Peter Berger writes, “Men are congenitally compelled to create a meaningful order upon reality.” This statement is part of his broader thesis that people create culture. Below is a brief outline of his social theory.
1. Externalization is the innate or congenital impulse within humanity to create order in the world. Externalization can be considered as a world-building desire.
2. Objectivation is the world that people create. The world is seen to have a life of its own apart from those who created it. The irony, of course, is that the world only appears to be “objective; ” in truth, people have created it.
3. Internalization is the process whereby the “objective” world, as experienced by people, is internalized. In turn, the world shapes the structures of human thought.
4. Institutions are those elements in society that are so taken for granted that they become patterns – patterns of thought, behavior, and discourse. Institutions, therefore, have the sense of objectivity and are coercive in that they seek social control.
5. Roles are closely linked to institutions. When people unquestioningly believe in institutions, they learn the proper social roles. Also like institutions, these roles will seem objective. When the person accepts a role, that role will become subjective and real to the person.
6. Deinstitutionalization takes place when a person questions institutions and feels alienated from his or her role. At this point, he or she may begin to consider other options.
6. Worldview refers to the broadest level of understanding. This is where a person assumes that there is an objective world and subjectively experiences it. In short, this allows a person to map out the world and find his or her place in it.
7. Plausibility Structures refers to the maintenance of society. It is chiefly through contact with members of person’s community that a person comes to view something as more or less plausible.
Points to Ponder:
1. If all societies are created, it behooves a person to question why things are the way they are. More cynically, a person should probably ask: “who stands to gain in such a society or social arrangement?”
2. Berger argues that deinstitutionalization is possible and it would be good to seek this, not to create social unrest, but to see the hidden face of power or less cynically the social construction of reality. Also, one can willingly submit to certain roles, not because a person has to, but because a person wants to or sees the benefit of such a posture for the sake of the society, or if a person is a Christian, then for the sake of God. Paul does this.
3. Social theories show cogently that society has more of an impact on an individual than once believed. Nurture may be more important than nature. Beware of with whom you hang out – do I sound like a parent?
4. Since worldviews are also socially constructed, it is always helpful to question a person’s own worldview from time to time or seek to enter into another person’s worldview, or at least attempt to do so.
5. Plausibility has a enormous social element. Knowing this point should not only underscore the importance of community, but also show how to gain plausibility. If a person knows that a certain belief is not plausible in a certain group, then to admit this is probably the first step towards gaining plausibility.