The importance of language as a filter for reality cannot be overstated. The labelling of
things, ideas, places, and the like, help to stop people from looking too deeply into the
nature of the reality of whatever they are looking at. After a while, people stop looking at
whatever is before them, and instead look upon the label it has been given. (Severin,
1979). To illustrate this point let us take the example of a tree. When a person walks past
a tree, they register it as a tree, and then move on. Once the label has been recognised, no
further thought is given to the tree. If asked "what is that?" the person would tell you that
it was a tree. This is not an answer, simply a name. However if you were to ask one
hundred people that question, all would tell you the same thing. If you were to change the
question more significantly, "what is that specific tree?" you would be met with
confusion. This is because the reality of things is not what a person looks at, but rather
the linguistic construction built to filter that reality. A further illustration of the linguistic
construction of reality can be seen in the following example. It is well documented that
many people suffering from illness will recover if told they are being given medicine, but
are in fact given placebos. This shows us just how powerful a label can be in a
linguistically constructed reality. Sickness can be cured by a tic-tac if the person is told
they are being given medicine.
Reality is not only linguistically constructed, but also socially constructed. How a person
behaves is dictated by their society, which in turns controls how they view reality. In a
society in which polygamy is the norm, the reality is that men have more than one wife.
Conversely, in countries wherein polygamy is outlawed, the reality is that men have only
one life. This shows us that reality is simply a social construction to some extent. The
society a person lives in determines their reality. (Dance, 1976). In that particular case,
the determinant was morality, which differs depending on social group. However this is
not true for all cases. Some realities, such as the sun rising in the morning, the grass being
green, are reality simply through experience. The sun has risen every day of my life in the
morning, and therefore it will rise again today. That line of reasoning is facetious, but is
the basis for most supposed "realities". Another socially constructed reality is the idea of
writing an essay. Depending on which university a person is at, or which teacher they
have, the reality of an essay is different. Some teachers will praise original thought. Most
however are only interested in the regurgitation of another person's ideas. After all, that
is what quoting is. It is saying “I don't have any ideas, but this guy says…”. Once again it
comes down to the rules of a society what the exact nature of a reality is. If all reality is
thusly infirm, then the social construction of reality, or any construction for that matter, is
a necessary defence mechanism, to deal with the instability of our world. The social
construction made from ritual, regulation and taboo, is a method of controlling our
reality.
Every person, through their life, will form a number of human relationships. People
choose who they want to be around them, the people they wish to associate with. These
are the people who will compose that individual's reality. (Anderson, 1972). To that
extent reality must be viewed as a social construction, for what is reality if not the
dealings with other human beings? Once other people are taken from a reality, the reality
starts to look a little thin. There is nothing within that reality to make it worthy of the
name. It is therefore nothing. Let us take, for example, Mohammed Ali. If you take all of
the important people out of his life, then you have very little left. Without his opponents
in the ring, his friends in the media, his fans, his mother, father and wife, there is nothing.
A man must therefore be the sum of the relationships he has. If we take this idea one step
further, a person, and their entire reality, cannot exist without other people. If there is
nobody else, then a person has no proof that they even exist at all. If this is true for all
peoples then all humanity must be part of a larger, ever changing, and completely fluid
reality. Viewing this reality from a personal standpoint is where one begins the social
construction of their own reality, which explains why all views of reality differ. Thus it
can be said that reality is partly a social construction.
