Peter Ludwig Berger Boeken

Amid the variety of human experiences, the comic occupies a distinctive place. It is simultaneously ubiquitous, relative, and fragile. In this book, Peter L. Berger reflects on the nature of the comic and its relationship to other human experiences. Berger contends that the comic is an integral aspect of human life, yet one that must be approached and analyzed circumspectly and circuitously. Beginning with an exploration of the anatomy of the comic, Berger addresses humor in philosophy, physiology, psychology, and the social sciences before turning to a discussion of different types of comedy and finally suggesting a theology of the comic in terms of its relationship to folly, redemption, and transcendence. Along the way, the reader is treated to a variety of jokes on a variety of topics, with particular emphasis on humor and its relationship to religion. Originally published in 1997, the second edition includes a new preface reflecting on Berger’s work in the intervening years, particularly on the relationship between humor and modernity.

This book is the summation of many decades of work by Peter L. Berger. It outlines a new paradigm for understanding religion and pluralism in an age of multiple modernities. Along the way, Berger addresses a wide range of issues spanning individual faith, interreligious socieities, and the political order. The book also includes responses from three eminent scholars of religion: Nancy Ammerman, Detlef Pollack, and Fenggang Yang

The book explores the tension between relativism and fundamentalism, two prevailing extremes in contemporary culture. Peter Berger leads a discussion among scholars who seek to define a middle ground that acknowledges specific truth claims while promoting tolerance. The first part provides sociological insights into the impact of these extremes in today’s society, while the second part features contributions from various Christian and Jewish traditions that articulate a normative stance, advocating for a balanced approach that respects differing beliefs without resorting to dogmatism.

The report explores the dynamics of social cohesion, highlighting the challenges posed by normative conflicts. It emphasizes the growing importance of intermediate institutions and individual leaders in mediating these conflicts. Through years of collaboration between the Club of Rome and the Bertelsmann Science Foundation, the findings provide insights into the factors that influence social unity and the mechanisms that can help address emerging societal tensions.

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 subdicipline that, since Max Scheler, has been known as the sociology of knowledge.

Offers an account of the role of knowledge in society aimed to stimulate both discussion and investigations. This book presents an analysis of knowledge in everyday life in the context of a theory of society as a dialectical process between objective and subjective reality.

This lucid and lively book, punctuated with witty, incisive examples, is addressed both to the layman who wants to know what sociology is all about and to students and sociologists who are concerned about the larger implications and dimensions of their discipline. Professor Berger places sociology in the humanist tradition and recognizes it as a "peculiarly modern, peculiarly timely form of critical thought." Without underestimating the importance of scientific procedures in sociology, he points out its essential affinity with history and philosophy, and he shows how sociology in this sense can contribute to a fuller awareness of the human world."Unlike puppets," he notes, "we have the possibility of stopping in our movements, looking up and perceiving the machinery by which we have been moved. In this act lies the first step towards freedom." Professor Berger discusses this consciousness in detail, in relation to one's own biography, to the operations of social institutions, and to the makeup of an individual as a product of this institutions. In each instance, he outlines the major contributions to sociology of such classical sociologists as Weber, Pareto, and Drukheim in Europe; Veblen, Cooley, and Mead in the United States; and some of the most important names in the field today.

An absorbing and original examination that brilliantly argues that religion is a product of the society from which it springs—featuring illustrations drawn from a variety of primitive, ancient, and contemporary religions. In this book, Berger that religion is the "sacred canopy" which every human society builds over its world to give it meaning, expanding on theories of knowledge that he first explored (with Thomas Luckmann) in The Social Construction of Reality.

Europe is a relatively secular part of the world in global terms. Why is this so? And why is the situation in Europe so different from that in the United States? This book considers these questions. It explores the nature of Eurosecularity (variations on the theme) - paying attention to its historical, philosophical and institutional dimensions.

Written by one of the most revered sociologists of the of the 20th century, A Rumor of Angels gives readers a unique insight into the complicated relationship between religion and society. It is undeniable that religion has had a profound effect on civilization. Readers will learn just how religion and society affect one another, and how that relationship has changed in modern times, with the secularization of mainstream society. Questioning modern morality, Peter Berger offers one of the most thought provoking books on religion in the 20th century. Praise for Peter Berger "A book of great practical wisdom by authors who have profound insight into the intellectual dynamics governing contemporary life."--Dallas Willard, author of Knowing Christ Today