Sociological Imagination

The concept of sociological imagination was a phenomenon that was coined to Mill’s perspective of the social aspect of life. In sociological imagination, Mill meant the ability of individuals to ‘think themselves away’ from the routine procedures and activities they undertake on a daily basis in order to ascertain the significance and impetus of their activities. As such, an individual needs to understand the relationship that exists between his/her experience and the societal experience as a whole. When an individual shifts from analyzing issues based on personal experience, one will be able to understand the interaction and influence of individual’s activities on the happenings or activities imminent in the society. In order to possess sociological imagination, it is vital for an individual to eradicate the ‘self’ thinking and focus on the effects of his/her activities to the whole society. The phenomenon can be demonstrated using a depressed individual. Though the society may perceive that an individual has been depressed because of ‘bad’ activities that one was involved in his or her chores, it is difficult to ascertain the extent to which the society played a role in harnessing depression. In fact, it is difficult to determine how an individual has been affected by the unpleasant event or activity in the society.

In his definition of sociological imagination, Mills cites the relationship that exists between biography and history: ‘the personal troubles of milieu and the public issues of social structure’ (Mills 1959:8). Ideally, troubles are situated in biographies of individuals and their direct milieu, which can be perceived to be quite a private experience. However, public issues are involved with historical and institutional possibilities in the societal social structure. As such, Mills articulate to the need of developing a connection between public issues and personal problems in the social setting.

Developing social imagination ensures that the society understands and links public issues to personal attributes with an aim of harnessing empirical and theoretical insight. However, social imagination tends to distinguish between social research and analysis from anecdotes, hearsay, and assorted opinions in an organized manner in which the activities of the world are assessed (Josselson, 1996). As sociology commences with an individual’s experience, therefore, exploration of human behavior and patterns of life ensures that the adept information is clinically and efficiently acquired from the society. The aim of collecting individual’s experience ensures that substantive claims are undertaken on the relationship between personal circumstances and milieu. It is from this perspective that Mills argues that locating an individual’s problem from a wide spectrum of public issues ca n be challenging, and requires understanding between history and biography—thereby, forming sociological perspective of life (Mills, 1959).

Finally, Mills (1959) posits that methodological practice, demonstrated by sociology imagination, enhances astute analysis that aims at fostering the relationship between public issues and persona troubles in the society. Indeed, there has been a tendency to envisage that objectivity and subjectivity are research perspectives that are mutually exclusive (Reay, 1996). It is apparent that sociology imagination aims at outlining the differences that exist between a subjective and objective opinion in an attempt to realize unity of mind. With the changes in the societal activities, individuals in various social settings can conceive ideas differently, and there is need to have a coherent imagination to enhance understanding of different perspectives of life.

References

Josselson, R. (1996). On writing other people’s lives. In Josselson R (ed) Ethics and Process in The Narrative Study of Lives, Sage Publications, California.

Mills, C. W. (1959). The Sociological Imagination, New York, Oxford University Press.

Reay, D. (1996). Dealing with difficult differences: Reflexivity and social class in feminist research, Feminism and Psychology 6(3): 443-456.