--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: As long as the nascent institutions are…" description: "\"“As long as the nascent institutions are constructed and maintained only in the interaction of A and B, their objectivity remains tenuous, easily chang..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2c7/peter-l-berger-8474_objectivity_as-long-as-the-nascent-institutions-are_1364751.png" --- # As long as the nascent institutions are constructed and… ![“As long as the nascent institutions are constructed and maintained only in the interaction of A and B, their objectivity remains tenuous, easily changeable, almost playful, even while they attain a measure of objectivity by the mere fact of their formation. To put this a little differently, the…” quote by Peter L. Berger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2c7/peter-l-berger-8474_objectivity_as-long-as-the-nascent-institutions-are_1364751.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2c7/peter-l-berger-8474_objectivity_as-long-as-the-nascent-institutions-are_1364751.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2c7/peter-l-berger-8474_objectivity_as-long-as-the-nascent-institutions-are_1364751.png) > ““As long as the nascent institutions are constructed and maintained only in the interaction of A and B, their objectivity remains tenuous, easily changeable, almost playful, even while they attain a measure of objectivity by the mere fact of their formation. To put this a little differently, the routinized background of A’s and B’s activity remains fairly accessible to deliberate intervention by A and B. Although the routines, once established, carry within them a tendency to persist, the possibility of changing them or even abolishing them remains at hand in consciousness. A and B alone are responsible for having constructed this world. A and B remain capable of changing or abolishing it. What is more, since they themselves have shaped this world in the course of a shared biography which they can remember, the world thus shaped appears fully transparent to them. They understand the world that they themselves have made. All this changes in the process of transmission to the new generation. The objectivity of the institutional world “thickens” and “hardens,” not only for the children, but (by a mirror effect) for the parents as well. The “There we go again” now becomes “This is how these things are done.” A world so regarded attains a firmness in consciousness; it becomes real in an ever more massive way and it can no longer be changed so readily. For the children, especially in the early phase of their socialization into it, it becomes the world. For the parents, it loses its playful quality and becomes “serious.” For the children, the parentally transmitted world is not fully transparent. Since they had no part in shaping it, it confronts them as a given reality that, like nature, is opaque in places at least. Only”” [Peter L. Berger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-l-berger/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Institutions are built by interacting individuals; their objectivity is fragile until they become entrenched, making them seem permanent and harder to change for later generations. **In simple terms:** People create institutions; they become solid over time. Key Takeaway Recognize that structures can be reshaped with collective effort. Themes social construction institutional change generational transmission objectivity transparency Mood reflective critical hopeful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - education reform - organizational redesign - policy making - family dynamics - community building Key Concepts social theory habitus structuration collective memory Questions to Reflect On - How can we keep institutions flexible for future generations? - What practices help maintain transparency in inherited systems? A Different Perspective Even entrenched institutions retain potential for change, but resistance grows as they harden. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Children Parentally](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children-parentally-4682311/) [Objectivity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/objectivity/) [Objectivity Institutional](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/objectivity-institutional-4682314/) [Phase Socialization](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/phase-socialization-4682313/) [Philosophy of Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy-of-mind/) [Socialization World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/socialization-world-4682312/) ## Related quotes > [Who is this guy who is really shaping a large part of the socialization of the world? 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Scientific experimentation also involves extensive manipulation of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-heath/the-scientific-method-is-famous-for-requiring-objectivity-and/) [Joseph Heath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-heath/) > [The quality an artist must have is objectivity in judging his work, plus the honesty and courage not to kid himself about it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/the-quality-an-artist-must-have-is-objectivity-in-judging-his-work/) [William Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-faulkner/) > [Surely to root politics out of art is a highly necessary undertaking: for the freedom of art, like that of science, depends entirely upon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wyndham-lewis/surely-to-root-politics-out-of-art-is-a-highly-necessary-undertaking/) [Wyndham Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wyndham-lewis/) ## More by Peter L. Berger > [“In sum, the actor identifies with the socially objectivated typifications of conduct in actu, but re-establishes distance from them as he reflects about his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-l-berger/in-sum-the-actor-identifies-with-the-socially-objectivated/) [Peter L. Berger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-l-berger/) > [In acute suffering the need for meaning is as strong or stronger than the need for happiness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-l-berger/in-acute-suffering-the-need-for-meaning-is-as-strong-or-stronger-than/) [Peter L. Berger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-l-berger/) > [In all advanced industrial societies, education has become the single most important vehicle of upward mobility.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-l-berger/in-all-advanced-industrial-societies-education-has-become-the-single/) [Peter L. 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Berger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-l-berger/) > [It has been true in Western societies and it seems to be true elsewhere that you do not find democratic systems apart from capitalism,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-l-berger/it-has-been-true-in-western-societies-and-it-seems-to-be-true/) [Peter L. Berger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-l-berger/) > [On the one hand, man is a body, in the same way that this may be said of every other animal organism. On the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-l-berger/on-the-one-hand-man-is-a-body-in-the-same-way-that-this-may-be-said/) [Peter L. Berger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-l-berger/) > [“One of the traits of sophistication is the capacity to cross borders between different cultural relevancies. Humor is often, intentionally or not, the result…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-l-berger/one-of-the-traits-of-sophistication-is-the-capacity-to-cross-borders/) [Peter L. Berger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-l-berger/) > [“All human activity is subject to habitualization. Any action that is repeated frequently becomes cast into a pattern, which can then be reproduced with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-l-berger/all-human-activity-is-subject-to-habitualization-any-action-that-is/) [Peter L. Berger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-l-berger/) > [Language is capable of becoming the objective repository of vast accumulations of meaning and experience, which it can then preserve in time and transmit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-l-berger/language-is-capable-of-becoming-the-objective-repository-of-vast/) [Peter L. Berger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-l-berger/) > [“Activity becomes process. Choices become destiny. 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Berger quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-l-berger/) ## More Objectivity quotes > [Surely to root politics out of art is a highly necessary undertaking: for the freedom of art, like that of science, depends entirely upon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wyndham-lewis/surely-to-root-politics-out-of-art-is-a-highly-necessary-undertaking/) [Wyndham Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wyndham-lewis/) > [A common fallacy in much of the adverse criticism to which science is subjected today is that it claims certainty, infallibility and complete emotional…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cyril-norman-hinshelwood/a-common-fallacy-in-much-of-the-adverse-criticism-to-which-science-is/) [Cyril Norman Hinshelwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cyril-norman-hinshelwood/) > [“Empirically, things are poignant, tragic, beautiful, humorous, settled, disturbed, comfortable, annoying, barren, harsh, consoling, splendid, fearful; are such immediately and in their own right…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/empirically-things-are-poignant-tragic-beautiful-humorous-settled/) [John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/) > [The quality an artist must have is objectivity in judging his work, plus the honesty and courage not to kid himself about it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/the-quality-an-artist-must-have-is-objectivity-in-judging-his-work/) [William Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-faulkner/) > [“The scientific method is famous for requiring objectivity and emotional detachment on the part of the investigator. 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Although the routines, once established, carry within them a tendency to persist, the possibility of changing them or even abolishing them remains at hand in consciousness. A and B alone are responsible for having constructed this world. A and B remain capable of changing or abolishing it. What is more, since they themselves have shaped this world in the course of a shared biography which they can remember, the world thus shaped appears fully transparent to them. They understand the world that they themselves have made. All this changes in the process of transmission to the new generation. The objectivity of the institutional world “thickens” and “hardens,” not only for the children, but (by a mirror effect) for the parents as well. The “There we go again” now becomes “This is how these things are done.” A world so regarded attains a firmness in consciousness; it becomes real in an ever more massive way and it can no longer be changed so readily. For the children, especially in the early phase of their socialization into it, it becomes the world. For the parents, it loses its playful quality and becomes “serious.” For the children, the parentally transmitted world is not fully transparent. Since they had no part in shaping it, it confronts them as a given reality that, like nature, is opaque in places at least. Only”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Peter L. 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