Seeing Ourselves Peter L Berger Use Of Symbols

Sociology121, Section 02
25 September 2013
The Use of Symbols Symbols have been a form of communication throughout all ages of the world. Some people may interpret it the same while others may perceive it as a totally different thing while also displaying a lack of interest towards it, simply because they do not understand it. The misinterpretation of symbols can cause some problems within a homogenous or heterogeneous community because different values can be placed on different things. Symbols can be defined as a thing that represents or stands for something else. A symbol can range from anything such as icons, images, tokens, and etc. The use of symbols can have two sides to it, depending on how a person interprets it. In the book “Seeing Ourselves” by John Macionis, a Professor of Sociology and Prentice Hall Distinguished Scholar, Peter L. Berger makes a statement that meaning is socially constructed by a society. According to Berger, people act accordingly to the meaning they assign to objects, symbols, or events. Basing off of Berger’s theory, symbols are only valuable when they have the same meaning to people. A prime example this theory would be the cross. Some people wear it because it is sacred to them and it represents the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, while others wear it simply because it is a
In America the color the represents death and mourning is black but in china it is white. Imagine a Chinese man coming to a funeral in America, that person would experience a major culture shock because the meaning we have applied to black is to symbolize death, but in his culture white would be that color. Even though symbols can bring about problems through misinterpretations, one can say that it is also beneficial to us. Instead of writing stop, come, or go we can relate those commands to images or signs that provide the actions