First, I would like to refer to a discussion from two completely different perspectives on how the facts that people socially consider as “reality” can come into existence. One perspective is the theory of speech acts, intentionality, and collective intentionality from the philosopher John Searle, as presented in his works “The Construction of Social Reality” (1995) and its sequel “Making the Social World” (2010). The other perspective is from the standpoint of Phenomenological Sociology, attempting to explain the “social reality” as experienced by individuals living their everyday lives in the social world (Schutz 1962a = 1990:86). Specifically, this will examine Alfred Schutz’s arguments and the work of Peter Berger and Thomas Luckmann in “The Social Construction of Reality” (1966). The question here is what constitutes social reality and why do people perceive it as socially real. The contrasting views of these two “social reality” theories may initially seem far-fetched, but they should provide clues for evaluating the new everyday reality created by the internet.
- Oh, this is exactly what I wanted to read.