Faculty of Social Sciences , University Of Tehran

Document Type : Research Article / Original Article

Authors

1 Assistant professor, Department of Islamic social sciences, Faculty of Social sciences, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran

2 Ph.D. Candidate in cultural sociology, Facuity of Social Sciences, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran.

Abstract

One of the fundamental issues of human life is the meaning of life. This topic has become a relatively independent area of study in recent decades. The issue can be examined from different perspectives, with the construction of life's meaning or its objectification beyond individual and social constructs being one of the important areas that has generated diverse scholarly views. The key questions are: Does a person construct meaning for life, or is the world inherently meaningful, requiring only that an individual align their life with this meaning to achieve a meaningful existence? This article compares the views of Peter Berger and Mohammad-Taqi Jafari on this subject. The research was conducted using a hermeneutic method inspired by John Plamenatz. The research reveals that while Peter Berger and Mohammad-Taqi Jafari share many similarities in their analysis of life's meaning and acknowledge the central role of religion in providing meaning, they differ in their perspectives on how meaning is established—whether through construction or discovery. Berger views the meaning of life as a social construct, whereas Mohammad-Taqi Jafari considers meaning as an objective reality that humans can comprehend by harmonizing with existence.

Keywords

Main Subjects

Holy Quran
Abdullahpour Sangchi, F. & Rezaee, M. (2022) “Systematic Analysis of the Meaning of Life Based on Love from Allameh Jaʿfari’s Viewpoint”. Philosophy of Religion Research, 20(2), 109-132
Akhgar, M., & farsinezhad, A. (2017). “Fundamental Differences between Ostad Motahari’s and Allameh Jaafari’s Approaches to Meaning of Life as an Issue”. The Mirror of Knowledge17(4), 93-114.
Alahbedashti, A. & Ostadi, A. (2021) “rabet-ey mobani ensanshenasi va manay-e zandegi az nazar-e vil dorant va alameh mohamadtaghi jafari”. Tahqīqāt-e Kalāmi, 9(34), 7-24 [In Persian]
Aristotle. (1981). The Politics.  (Translated from English to Persian by H. Enayat). Tehran: Sepehr Publication 
Berger,  L. (1966). "Identity as a Problem in the Sociology of Knowledge". European Journal of Sociology / Archives Européennes de Sociologie / Europäisches Archiv Für Soziologie, 7(1), 105–115.
Berger,  L. (1969). The Social Reality of Religion. (Translated from English to Persian by A. Morshedi). Tehran: Saless Publication
Berger,  L. (1976). Pyramids of sacrifice: Political ethics and social change. Anchor Press/Doubleday.
Berger,  L. (2004). Invitation to sociology: A humanistic perspective (Nachdr.). Anchor Books.
Berger,  L., & Luckmann, T. (1967). The Social Construction of Reality: A Treatise in the Sociology of Knowledge. (Translated from English to Persian by F. Majidi). Tehran: Elmi Farhangi Publication
Berger,  L., & Luckmann, T. (1995). Modernity, Pluralism and the Crisis of Meaning: The Orientation of Modern Man. (Translated from English to Persian by A. Morshedi). Tehran: Saless Publication
Berger,  L., Berger, B., & Kellner, H. (1973). The Homeless Mind: Modernization and Consciousness. (Translated from English to Persian by M. Savoji). Tehran: Ney Publication
Berger, , & Pullberg, S. (1965). "Reification and the Sociological Critique of Consciousness". History and Theory, 4(2), 196–211.
Berger, , & Zijderveld, A. (2009). In Praise of Doubt: How to Have Convictions Without Becoming a Fanatic. HarperCollins.
Besecke, K. (2005). "Seeing Invisible Religion: Religion as a Societal Conversation about Transcendent Meaning". Sociological Theory, 23(2), 179–196.
Ebrahim Akbari, yarali Kord firouzjaei, Asqar Aqaei. (2021).”Critique of human nature from Nietzsche’s point of view with emphasis on Allameh Jafari ’s views”. Andish-eha-ey Falsafi va kalami, 1(2), 53-81
Heelas, , Martin, D., & Woodhead, L. (2013). Peter Berger and the Study of Religion (0 ed.). Routledge.
Hjelm, T. (Ed.). (2018). Peter L. Berger and the Sociology of Religion: 50 Years after The Sacred Canopy. Bloomsbury Academic.
Hunter, J. D. (1986). Making Sense of Modern Times: Peter L. Berger and the Vision of Interpretive Sociology (S. C. Ainley, Ed.). Routledge.
Ja'fari, M. T. (2010). Man in Elevating, Evolution Life. Tehran: Ostad-jafari Publication
Ja'fari, M. T. (2013a). Critique of David Hume's Thoughts and Bertrand Russell. Tehran: Ostad-jafari Publication
Ja'fari, M. T. (2013b). Translation and Interpretation of the Nahj al-Balagha. Tehran: Ostad-jafari Publication
Ja'fari, M. T. (2017). The Meaning of Life. Tehran: Ostad-jafari Publication
Khedri, Gh. (2014). “Evaluating and Analyzing Allameh Jafari’s View on Life Meaningfulness; Based on Anthropology of Religion”. Hekmat e Mo'aser, 5(4), 67-86
Knoblauch, H. (2019). The Communicative Construction of Reality. Taylor & Francis.
Lessig, L. (1995). The Regulation of Social Meaning. University of Chicago.
Mahdavinejad, M. & Ganjaroodi, M. (2024). “Analyzing the Consept of Value with an Epistemological Approach in the Opinions of Allameh Mohammad Taghi Jafari”. SADRA’I Wisdom, 12(1), 93-106
Maines, D. R. (2000). "The Social Construction of Meaning". Contemporary Sociology, 29(4), 577–584.
Metz, T. (2003). “Ethics”. (Translated from English to Persian by M. Javadi). Naqd Va Nazar8(29-30), 266-313
Metz, T. (2013). The Meaning of Life. (Translated from English to Persian by A. Tawakoli Shandiz). Tehran: Gognoos Publication
Metz, T., & Seachris, J. W. (2023). What Makes Life Meaningful?: A Debate (1st ed.). Routledge.
Plamenatz, (1963). Man and Society: A Critical Examination of Some Important Social and Political Theories from Machiavelli to Marx. Longmans.
Plamenatz, J. , Philp, M. , & Pelczynski, Z. (2012). Machiavelli, Hobbes, and Rousseau (1st ed.). Oxford University Press.
vigenz, D. (2003). “Truth, Invention and the Meaning of Life”. (Translated from English to Persian by M. Malekian). Naqd Va Nazar8(29-30), 38-91.
volf, S. (2003). “Meaning of Life”. (Translated from English to Persian by M. Abdollahi). Naqd Va Nazar8(29-30), 27-37.
Wolf, S. (1997). "Happiness and meaning: Two aspects of the good life". Social Philosophy and Policy, 14(1), 207–225.
Wuthnow, R. (1984). Cultural Analysis: The Work of Peter L. Berger, Mary Douglas, Michel Foucault, and Jürgen Habermas. Routledge & Kegan Paul.
Young, J. (2014). The Death of God and The Meaning of Life. (Translated from English to Persian by B. Khodapanah). Tehran: Hekmat Publication.