The concept of sociological imagination allows us to step out of our zone of judgment regarding how we think about social problems. C. Wright Mills' argument is that we should develop a method or way of looking at things in society from the perspective of the person experiencing the sociological phenomenon. In essence, we cannot look at things from our moral point of view; we have to look at things from the point of view of the person who experiences them. Mills believes that they cannot understand themselves as individuals; they also fail to understand their role and perspectives as individuals in society. We need to know the structure of society, the position of current society in the development of human history, and what varieties of men and women prevail in one's society. Connecting your personal life to social structure means using your sociological imagination. Mills also argues that the individual sees his own life as a trap and that it is not possible to understand the life of an individual without also understanding the history of society. They do not possess the mental quality to grasp the interaction of a different society and the history of one's self. They fail to address and resist problems in a way that controls the structural transformations that usually lie behind them. They usually do not define the problems they endure in terms of historical development and institutional contradiction. They usually do not blame the great ups and downs of the societies in which they live. The very shaping of history now surpasses people's ability to orient themselves according to values they care about. However, C. Wright Mills then offers his solution on whether the way we see the world around us can help us... middle of paper ......and how to make money from war. However, the public issues of war have effects on economic, political, familial, and religious organizations. The person has no power to prevent war. Another example is marriage. There can be personal problems within a marriage. However, when the divorce rate in the first four years is 250 per 1000 marriages, this becomes a public problem that has to do with the institutions of society and the stress they place on married couples. The last example given by Mills is the metropolis; living in a city can be a problem or a personal challenge. However, designing and managing the city is a public matter, and this is how personal problems are solved through better planning and management of major cities. Structural changes in the environment and organization are more complex, more stress, and understanding these things require sociological imaginations.
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