In Praise of Doubt: How to Have Convictions without Becoming a Fanatic
Author(s): Peter Berger
Philosophy, Politics & Current Affairs
We are stuck. Both as a culture and as individuals, we find it much easier to articulate what we are against and find ourselves at a loss for words when we need to articulate what we are for. World-famous sociologists Peter Berger and Anton Zijderveld team up to present a profound treatment of how we can have confidence in our convictions - in such ideals as democracy, human rights, equality under the law, etc. - without succumbing to the radical doubts of relativism and the false certainties of fundamentalism. With new lenses for seeing the influence modernism, relativism, and fundamentalism, they explore the roles of humour, doubt, and social norms that help us have convictions without grasping them so tightly that we become fanatical.
Product Information
"This is . . . a serious attempt to explain how to find middle ground between conviction - religious and otherwise - and doubt. . . . In fact, Berger and Zijderveld argue that doubt -- especially as expressed in the idea of a loyal opposition -- is at the heart of a democratic system." -- Los Angeles Times
Peter Berger is a renowned American sociologist, Professor Emeritus at Boston University, and author of several books, most notably The Social Construction of Reality. Anton C. Zijderveld is Professor Emeritus of General Sociology at Erasmus University, Rotterdam. He taught briefly in the United States and Canada. Among his many publications are The Abstract Society, On Cliches, and Reality in a Looking-Glass.
General Fields
- :
- : HarperCollins Publishers Inc
- : HarperOne
- : 0.163
- : 01 November 2010
- : 203mm X 135mm X 13mm
- : United States
- : 01 November 2010
- : books
Special Fields
- : Peter Berger
- : Paperback
- : 1009
- : 158.1
- : 192