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Essay / Sociological Imagination by Charles Wright Mills
When we think about their existence, we consider their daily lives and we think about norms. Charles Wright Mills invented the concept of sociological imagination which describes how individuals' thoughts will go beyond the ordinary. By analyzing society's perspectives, the sociological imagination will lead us away from our typical thoughts about life. On the contrary, we will look and see much more. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essayAccording to this sociologist, sociological imagination is a connection between people and history. More specifically, he defines sociological imagination as “the awareness of the relationship between personal experience and society at large.” In other words, it is knowledge of people, society and history. Individuals and societies create each other; you cannot understand a person if you do not understand their society and vice versa. All things considered, Mills concludes that the sociological imagination allows us to understand the effects we as people have on society and the effect society has on us. Sociological imagination consists of “making the strange familiar.” It’s about empathy; it’s a step one would take in one’s own life to see the “bigger” picture. The conjunction between biography and history will take place in this broad perspective. This way of seeing will lead those with a sociological imagination to question the interconnectedness they face. These questions include "what is the structure of this particular society as a whole?, where is this society located in human history?, what varieties of men and women are prevalent today in this society and at this period ? ". In some of these matters, it may deal with issues that are private and public affairs. In the sociological imagination, it puts into perspective questions such as personal problems of the environment and public problems of social structure. Personal troubles in the environment are inner conflicts. These disadvantages arise from the individual, from close relationships with others and from the restricted regions of a social life. In contrast, public problems of social structure arise when affairs extend beyond the self and local environments such as immediate friends, family, etc. In short, these issues are distinct when viewing the issues as personal issues while the issues are public issues. Mills believes that knowing the difference between the two terms is "an essential tool of the sociological imagination." It is important to distinguish problems from problems, because public problems are often overlooked. Many people accept that the problems are the personal problems of the people in their environment. As an illustration, an individual committed suicide, but people find this dilemma of self-destruction to be “common.” They may assume that “it’s his life, his choices.” It's just him and his family, no one else. It has nothing to do with me. » However, sociologist Emile Durkheim would probably disagree. He explained in his own way this sociological imagination within his work “Suicide” by integrating history. Suicide is often wrongly considered a "personal problem" because it could be a public problem based on various indications. Suicide could be the consequence of tensions on family foundations. One could attribute high suicide rates to the weights people may have, including the social desire to acquire an advanced education; the excessive costs linked to this education;..