--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We have had no polemic interest in…" description: "\"“We have had no polemic interest in writing this book. It would be foolish to deny, however, that our enthusiasm for the present state of sociological ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b48/peter-l-berger-8474_books_we-have-had-no-polemic-interest-in-writi_2386811.png" --- # We have had no polemic interest in writing this book. It… ![“We have had no polemic interest in writing this book. It would be foolish to deny, however, that our enthusiasm for the present state of sociological theory is markedly restrained. For one thing, we have tried to show, by our analysis of the interrelations between institutional processes and the…” quote by Peter L. Berger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b48/peter-l-berger-8474_books_we-have-had-no-polemic-interest-in-writi_2386811.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b48/peter-l-berger-8474_books_we-have-had-no-polemic-interest-in-writi_2386811.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b48/peter-l-berger-8474_books_we-have-had-no-polemic-interest-in-writi_2386811.png) > ““We have had no polemic interest in writing this book. It would be foolish to deny, however, that our enthusiasm for the present state of sociological theory is markedly restrained. For one thing, we have tried to show, by our analysis of the interrelations between institutional processes and the legitimating symbolic universes, why we must consider the standard versions of functionalist explanations in the social sciences a theoretical legerdemain. Furthermore, we hope we have shown cause for our conviction that a purely structural sociology is endemically in danger of reifying social phenomena. Even if it begins by modestly assigning to its constructs merely heuristic status, it all too frequently ends by confusing its own conceptualizations with the laws of the universe. In”” [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. Structural sociology risks turning concepts into immutable laws, limiting insight. **In simple terms:** Beware of treating theories as absolute truths. Key Takeaway Question assumptions in social analysis. Themes theory methodology critical thinking Mood analytical critical Type scholarly philosophical When to use this quote - academic research - policy design - education curricula Key Concepts structuralism functionalism heuristics Questions to Reflect On - How can we keep theories flexible? - What checks prevent reification? A Different Perspective Complex ideas may be oversimplified. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Functionalist Explanations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/functionalist-explanations-5930793/) [Sociological](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sociological/) [Sociological Theory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sociological-theory-5930794/) [State Sociological](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/state-sociological-5930795/) [Structural Sociology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/structural-sociology-5930792/) ## Related quotes > [My rap comes from a sociological standpoint rather than picking a particular side or dogma or ideology. I just want people to be free…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/killer-mike/my-rap-comes-from-a-sociological-standpoint-rather-than-picking-a/) [Killer Mike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/killer-mike/) > [What we experience in various and specific milieux, I have noted, is often caused by structural changes. Accordingly, to understand the changes of many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-wright-mills/what-we-experience-in-various-and-specific-milieux-i-have-noted-is/) [C. Wright Mills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-wright-mills/) > [This is - it's a sociological experiment in many ways. And so you're seeing the results of what happens when you put a lot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kehinde-wiley/this-is-it-s-a-sociological-experiment-in-many-ways-and-so-you-re/) [Kehinde Wiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kehinde-wiley/) > [I have come to the belief that there is not merely an accidental relationship between bad writing and routine sociological research, but a wonderfully…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-hardwick/i-have-come-to-the-belief-that-there-is-not-merely-an-accidental/) [Elizabeth Hardwick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-hardwick/) > [In the cosmology behind psychology, there is no reason for anyone to be here or to do anything... I'am an accident - a result…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-hillman/in-the-cosmology-behind-psychology-there-is-no-reason-for-anyone-to/) [James Hillman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-hillman/) > [Sociological prose is generally written without images in an exact form for an academic audience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-bly/sociological-prose-is-generally-written-without-images-in-an-exact/) [Robert Bly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-bly/) > [New York white youth were killing victims; that was a 'sociological' problem. But when black youth killed somebody, the power structure was looking to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-x/new-york-white-youth-were-killing-victims-that-was-a-sociological/) [Malcolm X](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-x/) > [Over and above the political, economic, sociological, and international implications of racial prejudices, their major significance is that they place unnecessary burdens upon human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-clark/over-and-above-the-political-economic-sociological-and-international/) [Kenneth Clark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-clark/) > [They lived freely among the students, they argued with the men over philosophical, sociological and artistic matters, they were just as good as the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/they-lived-freely-among-the-students-they-argued-with-the-men-over/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The application of psychoanalysis to sociology must definitely guard against the mistake of wanting to give psychoanalytic answers where economic, technical, or political facts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/the-application-of-psychoanalysis-to-sociology-must-definitely-guard/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [I think that the fact that a theory so vague, so insufficiently verifiable, and so far from the criteria otherwise applied in "hard" science,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-von-bertalanffy/i-think-that-the-fact-that-a-theory-so-vague-so-insufficiently/) [Ludwig von Bertalanffy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-von-bertalanffy/) > [Humanism is not wrong in its cry for sociological healing, but humanism is not producing it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-schaeffer/humanism-is-not-wrong-in-its-cry-for-sociological-healing-but/) [Francis Schaeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-schaeffer/) > [The fact that a theory so vague, so insufficiently verifiable, and so far from the criteria otherwise applied in 'hard' science has become a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-von-bertalanffy/the-fact-that-a-theory-so-vague-so-insufficiently-verifiable-and-so/) [Ludwig von Bertalanffy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-von-bertalanffy/) > [The things that inform student culture are created and controlled by the unseen culture, the sociological aspects of our climbing culture, our 'me' generation,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gus-van-sant/the-things-that-inform-student-culture-are-created-and-controlled-by/) [Gus Van Sant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gus-van-sant/) > [I want my books to last, to stand the test of time, and to do that I focus on the forces that shape the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-maraniss/i-want-my-books-to-last-to-stand-the-test-of-time-and-to-do-that-i/) [David Maraniss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-maraniss/) ## 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. Berger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-l-berger/) > [“Different objects present themselves to consciousness as constituents of different spheres of reality. I recognize the fellowmen I must deal with in the course…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-l-berger/different-objects-present-themselves-to-consciousness-as-constituents/) [Peter L. Berger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-l-berger/) > [F. A. Hayek is probably the most prominent advocate of capitalism in the present period.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-l-berger/f-a-hayek-is-probably-the-most-prominent-advocate-of-capitalism-in/) [Peter L. Berger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-l-berger/) > [India is the most religious country in the world, Sweden is the most secular country in the world, and America is a country of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-l-berger/india-is-the-most-religious-country-in-the-world-sweden-is-the-most/) [Peter L. Berger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-l-berger/) > [“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…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-l-berger/it-is-in-the-legitimation-of-death-that-the-transcending-potency-of/) [Peter L. Berger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-l-berger/) > [An economy oriented toward production for market exchange provides the optimal conditions for long-lasting and ever-expanding productive capacity based on modern technology.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-l-berger/an-economy-oriented-toward-production-for-market-exchange-provides/) [Peter L. 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. Men then live in the world they themselves have made as if they were fated to do so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-l-berger/activity-becomes-process-choices-become-destiny-men-then-live-in-the/) [Peter L. Berger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-l-berger/) > [“...his consuming interest remains in the world of men, their institutions, their history, their passions. And because he is interested in men, nothing that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-l-berger/his-consuming-interest-remains-in-the-world-of-men-their-institutions/) [Peter L. Berger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-l-berger/) [Explore all 80 Peter L. Berger quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-l-berger/) ## More Books quotes > [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [If I had a dollar for every time I couldn’t sleep, I could buy a billion locks and finally read a book in peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop-rock/if-i-had-a-dollar-for-every-time-i-couldn-t-sleep-i-could-buy-a/) [Aesop Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop-rock/) > [If what I write is literature, I guess you'd better emphasize the 'litter.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-lunch/if-what-i-write-is-literature-i-guess-you-d-better-emphasize-the/) [Lydia Lunch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-lunch/) > [My sentences got sharper and my stories more efficient, and I gradually learned to imagine the reader more clearly and to empathize with that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-thompson-walker/my-sentences-got-sharper-and-my-stories-more-efficient-and-i/) [Karen Thompson Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-thompson-walker/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/) [Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/) > [“Within the pages of books, I've journeyed to Mandalay, the Milky Way and Santa Fe, without once having to leave my armchair.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-ansbro/within-the-pages-of-books-i-ve-journeyed-to-mandalay-the-milky-way/) [Kevin Ansbro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-ansbro/) > [The Rosary is the book of the blind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/the-rosary-is-the-book-of-the-blind/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [“Tacitus did not write a most dangerous book. His readers made it so.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-k-krebs/tacitus-did-not-write-a-most-dangerous-book-his-readers-made-it-so/) [Christopher K. Krebs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-k-krebs/) > [“Take some books and read; that’s an immense help; and books are always good company if you have the right sort.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louisa-may-alcott/take-some-books-and-read-that-s-an-immense-help-and-books-are-always/) [Louisa May Alcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louisa-may-alcott/) > [Reader, if you are gifted with nerves like mine, aspire to any character but that of a wit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/reader-if-you-are-gifted-with-nerves-like-mine-aspire-to-any/) [Charles Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lamb/) > [I have many who keep me going, I am very fortunate in this sense. There is nothing like a child who knows more about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/floyd-cooper/i-have-many-who-keep-me-going-i-am-very-fortunate-in-this-sense-there/) [Floyd Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/floyd-cooper/) > [I think books in which people are really happy and things are going well are probably the most challenging novels there are to write,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/i-think-books-in-which-people-are-really-happy-and-things-are-going/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [It's like the query letter problem that I just mentioned, magnified a hundredfold. You might be good at telling a story, but that doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/it-s-like-the-query-letter-problem-that-i-just-mentioned-magnified-a/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) > [“Be careful about reading health books. Some fine day you'll die of a misprint.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-herz/be-careful-about-reading-health-books-some-fine-day-you-ll-die-of-a/) [Markus Herz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/markus-herz/) > [But editors are still the world's readers. And thus the eyes of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsy-lerner/but-editors-are-still-the-world-s-readers-and-thus-the-eyes-of-the/) [Betsy Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betsy-lerner/) [Browse all 59,485 Books quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“We have had no polemic interest in writing this book. It would be foolish to deny, however, that our enthusiasm for the present state of sociological theory is markedly restrained. For one thing, we have tried to show, by our analysis of the interrelations between institutional processes and the legitimating symbolic universes, why we must consider the standard versions of functionalist explanations in the social sciences a theoretical legerdemain. Furthermore, we hope we have shown cause for our conviction that a purely structural sociology is endemically in danger of reifying social phenomena. Even if it begins by modestly assigning to its constructs merely heuristic status, it all too frequently ends by confusing its own conceptualizations with the laws of the universe. In”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Peter L. Berger" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-l-berger/we-have-had-no-polemic-interest-in-writing-this-book-it-would-be/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Books" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-l-berger/we-have-had-no-polemic-interest-in-writing-this-book-it-would-be/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b48/peter-l-berger-8474_books_we-have-had-no-polemic-interest-in-writi_2386811.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b48/peter-l-berger-8474_books_we-have-had-no-polemic-interest-in-writi_2386811.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b48/peter-l-berger-8474_books_we-have-had-no-polemic-interest-in-writi_2386811.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“We have had no polemic interest in writing this book. It would be foolish to deny, however, that our…” — Peter L. Berger", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Peter L. Berger", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-l-berger/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“We have had no polemic interest...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-l-berger/we-have-had-no-polemic-interest-in-writing-this-book-it-would-be/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-l-berger/we-have-had-no-polemic-interest-in-writing-this-book-it-would-be/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```