Table Of ContentModernity,
Pluralisman dt he
Crisios f Meaning
The Orientationo f ModernM an
PeterL . Berger
ThomasL uckmann
BertelsmanFn oundationP ublishers
Gütersloh1 995
cIP-Fiihcns!!liJD!
Nlodcrnn),p lünLLsnr lhoaissolneanLng rl,r
onenrariono r nulco tr, PqerL Bor-lcri
(i d.d.h : Bqldrmrn( l.Nn(d'on
01995t sedelsmrtrhdr idanon .iütersloh
Edio. Dr ndtrr Ktrhlmrnn
cory cdtor: ltisltr N!uPdh
Prodücriotcrd nor sabr. Kltt'nr
cover designI IT(i !r(b.agqtrur, Rielereld
corerphoro Itobcd J)!Lru'11.K'eüro.n.i. I'r{l
Ns Yo'k. soloDu, R (lu$erh.hMdsün'
Latour andqpessr s dgtotrcn'bll, B,elercld
Print Fuldrerv un.g$Nax, !ulda
Contents
lletner lYeidenleld
Preface
PeterL . Betger,T bomasL uchmann
Modernity,p luralisma ndt he crisiso f meaning-
what basich umann eedso f oricntation
m u sbte s a t i s f i e d l . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
1. The foundationso f the meaningfulness
o f h n ml ai fne . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
2. Them eaningfuhroel* . ocialrelrtion<hips.
the concurrencoef meaninga ndt he
genercaoln ditiofonrsc riseosfn reanin.g. .........18
3. Moderniatyn dt hec risiosf m eaning ......28
4. Thel ososf t het aken-for-granted ........40
5. Flabituatedm eaninga ndc riseso f rneaning . . . . . . . . . . 49
6. How societiedse alw ith criscso f meaning:
illusionsa ndp ossibilities 57
7 .O u t l o o k . . . . . . . 6 4
The authors 71
The project 73
3
Preface
Questionso f cultural orientatiooa re amongt he most urgenri ssues
of moderns ociety.l ndividualisma nd pluralisml eadt o the conse-
quencet hat individualsm ore anclm ore facet he difficulty to define
standardsa nd valuesg uiding their own lives. IndividuaLsre quire
thesev aluesto be ablet o find orientationi n a situationr vhichi s de-
finedb y optionsa ndt he necessittyo taked ecisions.
Three ccntral groups of questionsc lelineatec rucial problems,
which the BertelsmannF oumlationi ntendst o tackleb y creatinga
newr ,rngco [ pro:cr,s o n cuhuraol rrcntation:
- llow cani ndividualrse alizem eaningfulilv esb y chosingfr om
thc pluralisticr nultiplicityo f optionsl
- How do humanb eingsc oorclinatteh e numerousr olesa nds ocial
networksi n which they interactlI n other words:h ow do they
stabilizcth cir own identity)
V/hat value systemsg uide thcir ideaso f good and cvil? In as
much :s individualss harcc onrnronv alue patternsw e havet o
raisca consccutivqeu estion*:' hich communitiesd o suchi ndividu-
alsf onn who sharcs imilar pattcrnso f mearinga nd judget heir
lives by the samev alue systcrns?A nd finally: what do these
comnrunitiesc ontributc to thc integrationo f the societya s a
wholeo r to what extcntd o thcy endangesru chi ntegration?
How canm oderns ocietiepsr ovided rer equiredl igaturesl
Individualsw ho havc acquircds tableo rienrationsp ossesasn cffcc-
tive panaceaa gainsct xistentiatlh rcatst o their self-perceptionlh. ey
regardt hemsclveas sp eoplew ith an undoubtedid entity. And they
availt henxelveosf ethicasl tandardwsh ich enableth em to judge
their actionsw ith regardt o their effecto n societya sa whole
On all drreel evelsin dividualsh avec easetdo act accordingto what
hest raditionallyb eenr egarrleda ss elf-evidenatn dt akcnf or grantcd.
Thereforct he losso f the taken-for-grantehda sl ed to the possibility
and cven necessittyo decide- hat is meaningfulg, ood and sociaily
acceptablcT. his decisioni s an individualo ne and it is debatrblei f
thc cohesiono f societys uffcrsa sa consequencoeft hesed ecisionsIn.
addrtiont he pluraiistica bundancoef suchd ecisionas llowsc ommun-
itiest o emergew hiche njoyt he loyaltieos f rheirm emberbs ut do
not nccessariltya kei nto eccountth e welfareo f socictya sa whole.
'fhe "culnrral
rangeo f projectso n orientation"s tartedi ts serieso f
publicationsw ith a first volumeo n "'lhc losso f orientation- the
cohesionc risisi n moderns ociety"( in Germanl anguageo nly). In a
next phaseo f the field of projectsw c commissionead number of
'lhomas
expcrtisesA. s a first result, Peter llerger (Boston)a nd
Lucknrann (Konstanz)p resentt heir analysiso f the mechanisms
which leadt o a crisiso f meaningin nodern societyl.h is study
emergedfr om a contexto f projectsw hich ared ealingw ith orienta
tion in the immediates ocialn eighborhooda ndw ith the orientation
by communicationin a workplacc environmenta nd in company
hierarchieso. ther sub-projectfso cuso n the legitimacyo f political
iction and the limits to statec ontrol of socialp rocesseosr on new
challengedsu e to the everi ncreasintc omplexityo f knowledgea nd
the flow of informationw hich moderni ndividualsfa ce.
PeterB ergera nd ThomasL ucknrannc ount amongt he ceusefso r
the modernc risiso f meaningp rocessocsf m odernizatiopnL, uralism
and particularlyw ith regardt o Buropeans ocieties- seculariza-
tion. fhjs leadsto the conscqucncteh at the validityo f sharedm ean-
ing is difficult to mailtain for largerg roupso f individualsin society.
Patternso f meaninga re being shareda nd maintainedb y smaller
communitiesI.t is thereforec rucialt o distinguishin which way in
dividualsu nite to form thesec ommunitiesI.n addition,a ll of them
relatet o the functionalm acros ysternsin societyl ike politics,e co-
6
nomy ands cienceIn. teractionb etweenth esele velsa ndc ommunities
is beingr egulatedb y intermediaryi nstitutions,m ediac ommunica-
tion andm oralizings tatementisn everydayli fe. It will needf urther
enquiryt o establishd efinitck nowledgeo n which institutionsa ree f-
fectivein this respecat ndh ow they performt heir task.T he resulto f
such a study can be evidenceo n the possibilityt o counteracr
centripetatle ndencieisn society.
Prof.D r. Verner \üeidenfeld
Membero f the Boardo f the
BertelsmanFno undation
Modernity, pluralisma ndt he crisiso f meaning-
whatb asich umann eedso f orientation
must be satisfied?
Peter [.. ßetger
TbomasL uchmann
1. The foundationos fthe meaningfulneosfsh umanl ife
It is not apparenwt hethert alk aboutt he crisiso f meaningin today's
world really correspondtso a new form of disorientationin the life
of modernp copLeC. ould it be that wc arem erelyh earingt he Latest
repetitiono f an old lament?Is ir the complaint* 'hich cxpressetsh e
feeLingo f distressw hich has againa nd againa fflictedh umanity in
the faceo f a worid becomeu nstcady?Is this thc old lament,t hat
hurnanl ife ls a life to*'ardsd cath?ls this the voiceo f doubt,t hat this
life couldf ind its meaningin a transcendenhti story of salvationOl r
is this despcrationa boutt he lack of sucha meaningl\ Vc ared istant
in time from thc book of the Ecclcsiast(e'esv erythingis noughtl
everythinigs i n vainl")b ut not distanftr omt hes pirito f thc Chroni
cle of BishopC )tto von Frcisingw ritten more than 850 ycarsa go:
"ln
alL,w c ares o depressebdy thc mcmory of thingsp ast,t he pres'
surco f thc presenta ndt he fearo f futurev icissitudetsh at we accept
the sentenceo f deatht hat is in rrsa nd rnay becomet ired of lifc it-
self."I t is evenf urther and all thc sanlen ot so far betwecnt he con-
ceptionso f humanf ate in history from Thucydidesto Alben
Camus.
On t,hat basisa rem odern( andp ost-modernc)r iticso f presendt ay
societya nd culture convincedt hat the crisiso f our tirnesi s funda-
mentally different from aLlp ast mkeries?T heseo bserversh ardly
startf rom the assumptiotnh at thcreh asb eena radicalc hangein the
humanc ondition,t he conditioh umanaR. athert hey seemt o suspect
a new socialc onstitutior of the meaningo f human life in moder-
nity, which hast hrown meaninga, ndw ith it humanl ife, into a his'
torically uniquec risis.S uchs pecüLationasr e powerfully suggestive
andm ay appearc onvincingt,h at doesn ot mean,h owever,t hat they
will actually stand up to cmpiricaLi nvestigationC. ontemporary
sociologicaal nalysiste ndsf ar too easily! o assumeth e existenceo f
somethingli ke meaninga nd meaningfulnesass ä fiotive of human
actiona nda sa backdropa gainswt hich the modernc risiso f meaning
is apparcntI.t is, therefore,n ecessartyo beginw ith sonrea nthropo-
logicalp reliminariesT. hey shalls eekt o identify the generacl ondi-
tions and basics tructureso f mexningfulh uman life. Only in this
way is it possibleto improveo ur understandinogf chengesin par-
ticulars tructureosf meaning.
Meaningi s constitutedin humanc onsciousnesins: the conscious
nesso f the individual,w ho is individuatedin a body and who has
beens ocializeda sa person.C onsciousnesisn,d ividuationt,h e speci-
ficity of the body, societya nd the historico'sociacl onstitutiono f
pcrsonali dentity are charact€risticso f our speciest,h e phylo- and
ontogenesios f which need not be consideredF- lowever,w e will
proviclea short sketcho f the generapLe rformanceosf consciousness
from which the multi-layeredm eaningfulnesosf experiencea nd ac-
tion in humanl ife is built up.
Conscior.rsnctaskse ni n itselfi s nothing;i t is alwaysc onsciousness
ofsomething.I t existso nly in sof ar asi t directsi ts att€ntion towerds
an object,t owerdsa goal.T his intentionalo bjecti s constitutedb y
the variouss ynthetica chievementosf consciousneassn d appearsin
its gcner;ls tructureq. herheri t bc perceptionm. emoryo r imagi
nation:a roundt he core,t he theme' of the intentionaol bject,
extendsa thematicf ield that is delimitedb y an open horizon.T his
10
horizon in which consciousnesos f ones own body is always given
can älso be themxtizcd. The sequenceo f interconnectedt hemes -
lct us call them apprehensions'- is in itself stili without meaning.
It is however the foundation, on which rncaning can come into ex-
istence. For, apprehensionsw hich do not occur simply and inde-
pendentLyb ut which the ego turns its attention lowards acquire a
higher degreco f thcmatic definition; thcy becomec learly contoured
"expcrienccs".
Expericncest aken nrdividr.rallyw ouLd stili bc without mcaning
Ilowever, as a core of expcricncc cletachesit self from the back'
ground of apprehensions,c onsciousnessg raspst he rclatioD of this
core to other expcnences.T he srmplcst form of such relationships
"equal', 'simi1ar"," diffcrcnt", "equally "different
are good', and
worse" etc. Thus is constituted thc most elementary level of mean-
ing. Me:rningi s nothing but a complex form of consciousnessit: does
nor exist independently.k always has a point of reference.M eaning
is consciousnesso f the fact th:t a relationship exists between
experiencesT.h e inversei s alsot rue: the meaningo f experience-s
and, as wiLl be shon'n, of actjons has to be constructed through
'
relational"p erformanceosf consciousnes1sh.e experiencecu rrent
ar a particular monent can be rclated to one in the immediate or
distant past. GeneralLy,e ach expcriencei s related not to one other,
but to a type of experience,ä schenreo f experience,a maxim, moral
legitimation ctc. won fron many experiencesa nd cither stored in
subjectivek nowiedge or täkcn fronl a socials tore of knowledge.
As convoluted as this phcnomcnology of multi-layered perform-
anceso f consciousnesms xy scenr,i ts resultsa re the simple elemeots
of meaning in our daily livcs. l-or cxample,i n the apprehensiono f a
flower a typical gestalti s tied in with a typical color connectedt o a
typical quality of snell, touch, and use. In directed consciousness
this apprehensionb ecomese xperience,t his experiencei s graspedi n
relation to other experiences(" so nrany flowcrs') or related to a clas'
sification taken from a social stock of knowledge ("an Alpine
flower') and may finally be intcgrated into a plan of action ("pick it
and take it to my lovcd one!").I n this processm ultiple types( "A1-
"loved
pinef lower", one')a rei ntegrateicnlt o a processusacl heme
('pick n andt akei t to') andf usedi nto a morec omplexb, ut still
everydayu nit of meening.I f finrlly this project is not simply put
into action becauseit confiicts with a morally founded maxim
("don't pick itl rare flowerl"), then a decisioni s arrived at and a
higherl evelm eaningis constitutedth rought he scquentiael vaiuation
of valuesa ndi ntcrcsts.
'l 'acting"
his examplea lreadyin dicatesth e doublem eaningo f and
"action".
Th€ meaningo f the currenta ct is constitutedp rospective-
ly. A completcda ctioni s meaningfuiln retrospectA. ction is guided
by a viewt o a prcconceiveadim .T hisd esignis a utopiain whicht he
actor anticipatesa future stete,a ssesscitss desirabilitya nd urgency
and considersth e stepsw hich will bring it about - insofara s the
procesiss not fanriliatrh roughe arliers imilara ctionsa ndh asn ot
"in
bccomea habit.'Iher neaninogf thc acions, the acr",i s consti-
tutedb y theirr clationto the goal.T he completeadc ion,w herher
successfuolr not - but alsot he actionp rojecteda sc omplete- can
be comparedto other actions,c an be undersrooda st he fulfillment
of maxims,c an be explaineda nd justifiede sr he executiono f laws,
canb ce xcuseads d efyinga norm,c anb ed eniedto othersa ndi n the
limit alsot o oneselfl. h ed oublem eaninagn dt hec omplexs tructure
of meaninga rec haracteristiocf all actionb ut in day-to-dayro utine
!he chxracteristicmsa y appearb lurred.
Sociala ction,o f course,s haresrh is structureo f meaningb ut ac-
quiresa dditionalc haracteristidci mensionsi:t can be indirect or di-
rect,i t can be mutualo r unilateral.S ociala ctionc an be directedt o-
wardso therp coplep resenot r absentd, eado r unborn.I t cans eekt o
addrestsh em in their individuality,o r ass ocialt ypeso f differentd e-
greeso f anonynrity,o r nrerclya ss ocialc ategoriesIt. can be directed
towardso btaininga responsoer nor - therem ay,o r may not be,a n
answerI.t can bc intendeda su niqueo r may aim to achiever egular
repetitiono r to be prolongedt hrough time. The complexm eaning
l2
