The Social Construction of Reality: A Treatise in the Sociology of Knowledge.

TLDR

This book examines the sociology of all forms of knowledge in society, especially the common‑sense knowledge that shapes everyday reality. The authors aim to provide a systematic account of knowledge’s role in society to stimulate critical discussion and empirical study, analyzing everyday knowledge within a dialectical theory of objective and subjective reality. They analyze everyday knowledge through a dialectical framework that contrasts objective and subjective reality. Their theory of institutions, legitimations, and socializations offers insights beyond sociology, benefiting other social scientists, historians, philosophers, and anthropologists.

Abstract

A general and systematic account of the role of knowledge in society aimed to stimulate both critical discussion and empirical investigations. This book is concerned with the sociology of 'everything that passes for knowledge in society'. It focuses particularly on that 'common-sense knowledge' which constitutes the reality of everyday life for the ordinary member of society. The authors are concerned to present an analysis of knowledge in everyday life in the context of a theory of society as a dialectical process between objective and subjective reality. Their development of a theory of institutions, legitimations and socializations has implications beyond the discipline of sociology, and their 'humanistic' approach has considerable relevance for other social scientists, historians, philosophers and anthropologists.