[1] This understanding arises from the inherent differences in individual perspectives or subjectivities relating to knowledge or ontology, leading to uncertainties about what is real.
While various viewpoints exist, people strive to establish a consensus, serving as a pragmatic guide for social norms.
[2][3] The term carries both positive and negative connotations, as it is viewed critically by anti-realist theorists but recognized for its practical benefits in fostering shared beliefs.
Berger and Luckmann argue that "reality is socially constructed and that the sociology of knowledge must analyze the process in which this occurs".
[11] Artists, writers, and theorists have attempted to oppose or undermine consensus reality while others have declared that they are "ignoring" it.
[12] For example, Salvador Dalí intended by his paranoiac-critical method[13] to "systematize confusion thanks to a paranoia and active process of thought and so assist in discrediting completely the world of reality".