“Things are not what they seem… Social reality turns out to have many layers of meaning.” - P. L. Berger
A lot of what I do I don't fully understand. I have limited time and virtually no access to logical discussion to unpack "things" that are "given", "unalterable" and "self-evident" to those around me. So, I operate as a mutable magician - a second generation acrobat who must 'go out' and learn...
P.L. Berger's work revolves around the relationship between society and the individual. His book "The Social Construction of Reality" posits that the social everyday reality (in contrast to other realities, such as dreams, theoretical constructs, religious or mystic beliefs, artistic and imaginary worlds, etc) of an individual is subject to a struggle of affiliation to often conflicting realities.
I don't know about you - but conflicting realities are the very fabric of my trade, my current job, my many social spheres and my raw inner nature. This quote pairs nicely with a piece I heard this morning on NPR about the inner nature of psychopaths and how their brains function differently from "regular Joe's". http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=128116806. While I can't get behind excusing a social crime due to "limited brain capacity", the onion of MY mind unpeels as I question how to communicate ( with language, graphics and emotionally) in a way that effectively means something to disparate groups.
Know what I mean? :)
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