Community Quote by Peter L. Berger
““Externalization and objectivation are moments in a continuing dialectical process. The third moment in this process, which is internalization (by which the objectivated social world is retrojected into consciousness in the course of socialization), will occupy us in considerable detail later on. It is already possible, however, to see the fundamental relationship of these three dialectical moments in social reality. Each of them corresponds to an essential characterization of the social world. Society is a human product. Society is an objective reality. Man is a social product. It may also already be evident than an analysis of the social world that leaves out any one of these three moments will be distortive.29 One may further add that only with the transmission of the social world to a new generation (that is, internalization as effectuated in socialization) does the fundamental social dialectic appear in its totality. To repeat, only with the appearance of a new generation can one properly speak of a social world. At””
About This Quote
Source Book: The Social Construction of Reality by Peter L. Berger and Thomas Luckmann, 1966
Society is built through a dialectic of externalizing, objectifying, and internalizing; each stage shapes and is shaped by human consciousness.
In simple terms: Society forms via externalization, objectification, internalization.
Key Takeaway
Understand and influence social processes.
Themes
sociology
philosophy
education
Mood
analytical
critical
Type
theoretical
academic
When to use this quote
- teaching
- policy making
- community building
- media analysis
Key Concepts
dialectics
socialization
culture formation
Questions to Reflect On
- How do you see these stages in your community?
- What happens when internalization is ignored?
A Different Perspective
Overemphasis on one stage can distort social analysis.
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