Peter Berger's "Sociology as a Form of
Consciousness" presents sociology as a unique form of modern thought.
Berger lists three main characteristics of sociology:
1.Underestimating the character.
2.Disrespect.
3.Putting things on their relative footing.
According to Berger these motifs of sociological thinking
place it as a "modern" form of Western consciousness. This uniqueness
is expressed in several ways. The terms "society" and
"social" take on a different meaning in sociology. Berger argues that
society as the object of research should be a cohesive set of relationships
sufficient to be able to analyze itself on its own as an independent entity.
Sociological research is a type of abstraction that differs from other types
(legal / economic, etc.) in that it is much more comprehensive and deals with
unofficial aspects of the objects of its research. Sociology needs certain
conditions to be formed - the main of which is historical circumstances that
are characterized by severe shocks to self-perception. However, there is a
universal aspect in sociology (i.e., it can evolve in many places, not
necessarily Western ones) but with the onset of modern times in the West
sociology began to take on the face of a systematic and centralized set of
rules. Berger argues that the sociology perspective involves seeing through the
facades of social structures (ample examples in the text). In conducting strong
research the sociologist wills to go beyond the accepted social
interpretations. For example, the concept of "social problem" (like
young offenders) is not a sociological problem - the sociologist may identify
with the claim that young offenders are a problem, but sociologically this fact
does not matter - it is an expression of underestimation, the ability to
examine situations from competing value systems. Durkheim's
functionalism is characterized by the analysis of society on the basis of its
actions as a system, Robert Merton's addition of analysis of functions as overt
and covert - allows a deeper vision into the activities of society as a system.
Another distinction is between "fair" and "unfair" sectors of
society, Berger argues that the absolute fairness of thought means death to
sociology, that is, sociology deals with the hidden and unofficial aspects of
society, which is, in Berger's view, the reason that sociology is almost
non-existent. In totalitarian countries. Finally, sociology according to Berger
also requires a certain degree of relativism, the ability to place value
systems in a relative and not absolute way.
Additional summaries from Peter Berger's Invitation to Sociology:
Sociology as an Individual Pastime
Great books by Peter Berger and other invitations to sociology:
