The Social Construction of Reality

Called the “fifth-most important sociological book of the 20th century” by the International Sociological Association, this groundbreaking study of knowledge introduces the concept of “social construction” into the social sciences for the first time. In it, Berger and Luckmann reformulate the task of the sociological subdiscipline that, since Max Scheler, has been known as the sociology of knowledge.

About the authors

Peter L. Berger was a University Professor of Sociology Emeritus at Boston University and the founder and Senior Research Fellow of the Institute on Culture, Religion, and World Affairs. He wrote numerous books on sociological theory, the sociology of religion, and Third World development. Among his more recent books are In Praise of Doubt (with Anton Zijderveld), Religious America, Secular Europe? (with Grace Davie and Effie Fokas), Questions of Faith, Many Globalizations (edited with Samuel Huntington), and Redeeming Laughter: The Comic Dimension of Human Experience. Professor Berger received honorary degrees from various universities. He died in 2017.

Thomas Luckmann is professor of sociology at the University of Konstanz. He is the author of, among other books, The Invisible Religion and (with Alfred Schutz) The Structures of the Life-World.