W9.1Readings from Travels with Sociology

 Sociology, a somewhat cold subject, is relevant to all of us. Because in sociology, there is the essence of slavery and freedom.

One of the things that struck me most was the total control society has over the individual. Some people compare society to a big prison, which takes advantage of people's desire to be accepted by the group to manipulate their thoughts and behaviors, so that even the most unruly people have to return to the track.

Berger begins this journey by guiding us through the broad context of the sociological discipline and beyond. The first landscape that comes into view is the main theoretical picture of the discipline and the sociological vision that can enlighten and enrich our understanding of the everyday mundane. From a humanistic perspective, Berger points out the discipline's close relationship with history and philosophy.

The journey then shows us the pursuit of sociology - "the vision of sociology is a broad, open vision of human life, a vision free from constraints.

Here we find our "self-portraits" constantly changing, as "we recall our past experiences and tend to repeat them with new interpretations. So we say that a person has as many different perspectives as he has life experiences".

The next few chapters, "Man in Society", "Society in Man" and "Society as a Drama" are very closely related, as if a series of cannonballs, impacting and rebuilding our three views in waves. After a bombardment, the world of the mind seems to be a lot quieter, and society turns out to be like this. As a very simple example, think about every time you face a "turning point" in your life, people around you, especially parents and teachers and all kinds of elders who care about you, always tell you to learn to adapt to the new environment. When you graduate and face employment, the day you go to society, they are more serious admonition to you, must be sure to adapt to society. The so-called adaptation is, do not care what runway society has set for you in advance, you just follow everyone running is. Don't get off track, don't stray from the track, don't fall behind.

Each of us can ask ourselves: Is what we want to do, what we want, really spontaneous, from the heart? Or are we under heavy pressure from the law, our families, our careers, our identities, and just trying our best to act the way people expect us to act? If you think about it, you will see that this kind of control is everywhere. And being aware of it is the first step towards freedom from control.

This book allows us to be skeptical and to reflect on "common sense" before we can build our own world.