--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It is in the legitimation of death that…" description: "\"“It is in the legitimation of death that the transcending potency of symbolic universes manifests itself most clearly, and the fundamental terror-assua..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fb2/peter-l-berger-8474_adam-and-eve_it-is-in-the-legitimation-of-death-that_417188.jpg" --- # It is in the legitimation of death that the transcending… ![“It is in the legitimation of death that the transcending potency of symbolic universes manifests itself most clearly, and the fundamental terror-assuaging character of the ultimate legitimations of the paramount reality of everyday life is revealed. The primacy of the social objectivations of…” quote by Peter L. Berger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fb2/peter-l-berger-8474_adam-and-eve_it-is-in-the-legitimation-of-death-that_417188.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fb2/peter-l-berger-8474_adam-and-eve_it-is-in-the-legitimation-of-death-that_417188.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fb2/peter-l-berger-8474_adam-and-eve_it-is-in-the-legitimation-of-death-that_417188.jpg) > ““It is in the legitimation of death that the transcending potency of symbolic universes manifests itself most clearly, and the fundamental terror-assuaging character of the ultimate legitimations of the paramount reality of everyday life is revealed. The primacy of the social objectivations of everyday life can retain its subjective plausibility only if it is constantly protected against terror. On the level of meaning, the institutional order represents a shield against terror. To be anomic, therefore, means to be deprived of this shield and to be exposed, alone, to the onslaught of nightmare. While the horror of aloneness is probably already given in the constitutional sociality of man, it manifests itself on the level of meaning in man’s incapacity to sustain a meaningful existence in isolation from the nomic constructions of society. The symbolic universe shelters the individual from ultimate terror by bestowing ultimate legitimation upon the protective structures of the institutional order.75 Very much the same may be said about the social (as against the just discussed individual) significance of symbolic universes. They are sheltering canopies over the institutional order as well as over individual biography. They also provide the delimitation of social reality; that is, they set the limits of what is relevant in terms of social interaction. One extreme possibility of this, sometimes approximated in primitive societies, is the definition of everything as social reality; even inorganic matter is dealt with in social terms. A narrower, and more common, delimitation includes only the organic or animal worlds. The symbolic universe assigns ranks to various phenomena in a hierarchy of being, defining the range of the social within this hierarchy.76 Needless to say, such ranks are also assigned to different types of men, and it frequently happens that broad categories of such types (sometimes everyone outside the collectivity in question) are defined as other than or less than human. This is commonly expressed linguistically (in the extreme case, with the name of the collectivity being equivalent to the term “human”). This is not too rare, even in civilized societies. For example, the symbolic universe of traditional India assigned a status to the outcastes that was closer to that of animals than to the human status of the upper castes (an operation ultimately legitimated in the theory of karma-samsara, which embraced all beings, human or otherwise), and as recently as the Spanish conquests in America it was possible for the Spaniards to conceive of the Indians as belonging to a different species (this operation being legitimated in a less comprehensive manner by a theory that “proved” that the Indians could not be descended from Adam and Eve). The”” [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. Societal symbols protect individuals from existential terror by giving meaning and order; loss of this shield leads to isolation and anxiety. **In simple terms:** Symbols give meaning and safety; without them, we feel alone. Key Takeaway Recognize and engage with shared meanings to reduce existential fear. Themes symbolism social order terror meaning isolation Mood thoughtful analytical Type philosophical critical When to use this quote - counseling - community building - education - policy making - personal reflection Key Concepts social construction existential anxiety institutional legitimacy Questions to Reflect On - How do you find meaning beyond social symbols? - What role do institutions play in your sense of safety? A Different Perspective Overemphasis on symbols can ignore material conditions that also shape experience. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Adam and eve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adam-and-eve/) [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Everyday life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/everyday-life/) [Identity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/identity/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Nature of man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature-of-man/) [Social interaction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/social-interaction/) ## Related quotes > [“An intrinsic problem, similar to the one we discussed in connection with tradition in general, presents itself with the process of transmission of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-l-berger/an-intrinsic-problem-similar-to-the-one-we-discussed-in-connection/) [Peter L. Berger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-l-berger/) > [“There is no remedy against this reversal of the natural order. 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Berger quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-l-berger/) ## More Adam and eve quotes > [The writings of latter-day prophets clearly teach that the sorrows and sufferings endured by Adam and Eve upon their leaving the Garden of Eden…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-k-judd/the-writings-of-latter-day-prophets-clearly-teach-that-the-sorrows/) Daniel K Judd > [“Milton argued, in 1649, after the execution of Charles I, that a people 'free by nature' had a right to overthrow a tyrant; a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-carter/milton-argued-in-1649-after-the-execution-of-charles-i-that-a-people/) [Ronald Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-carter/) > [And as regards Adam and Eve we must maintain that before the fall they were virgins in Paradise: but after they sinned, and were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/st-jerome/and-as-regards-adam-and-eve-we-must-maintain-that-before-the-fall/) [St. Jerome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/st-jerome/) > [Adam became so proud that he wished to become God and died for his pride; the Son of God humbled Himself unto death, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-of-kronstadt/adam-became-so-proud-that-he-wished-to-become-god-and-died-for-his/) [John of Kronstadt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-of-kronstadt/) > [The most devastating thing though that biology did to Christianity was the discovery of biological evolution. 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" The voice of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/ten-thousand-men-had-come-to-attend-solemn-service-heads-of-the/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) [Browse all 328 Adam and eve quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adam-and-eve/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“It is in the legitimation of death that the transcending potency of symbolic universes manifests itself most clearly, and the fundamental terror-assuaging character of the ultimate legitimations of the paramount reality of everyday life is revealed. The primacy of the social objectivations of everyday life can retain its subjective plausibility only if it is constantly protected against terror. On the level of meaning, the institutional order represents a shield against terror. To be anomic, therefore, means to be deprived of this shield and to be exposed, alone, to the onslaught of nightmare. While the horror of aloneness is probably already given in the constitutional sociality of man, it manifests itself on the level of meaning in man’s incapacity to sustain a meaningful existence in isolation from the nomic constructions of society. The symbolic universe shelters the individual from ultimate terror by bestowing ultimate legitimation upon the protective structures of the institutional order.75 Very much the same may be said about the social (as against the just discussed individual) significance of symbolic universes. They are sheltering canopies over the institutional order as well as over individual biography. They also provide the delimitation of social reality; that is, they set the limits of what is relevant in terms of social interaction. One extreme possibility of this, sometimes approximated in primitive societies, is the definition of everything as social reality; even inorganic matter is dealt with in social terms. A narrower, and more common, delimitation includes only the organic or animal worlds. The symbolic universe assigns ranks to various phenomena in a hierarchy of being, defining the range of the social within this hierarchy.76 Needless to say, such ranks are also assigned to different types of men, and it frequently happens that broad categories of such types (sometimes everyone outside the collectivity in question) are defined as other than or less than human. This is commonly expressed linguistically (in the extreme case, with the name of the collectivity being equivalent to the term “human”). This is not too rare, even in civilized societies. For example, the symbolic universe of traditional India assigned a status to the outcastes that was closer to that of animals than to the human status of the upper castes (an operation ultimately legitimated in the theory of karma-samsara, which embraced all beings, human or otherwise), and as recently as the Spanish conquests in America it was possible for the Spaniards to conceive of the Indians as belonging to a different species (this operation being legitimated in a less comprehensive manner by a theory that “proved” that the Indians could not be descended from Adam and Eve). The”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Peter L. 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