Charles Wright Mills The Fruit Of Sociological Imagination
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In 1959, Charles Wright Mills published The Sociological Imagination proposing that an individual may learn how certain factors affect one’s life decisions and how they live their lives. The certain factors that influence individuals' choices are their historical standing, society, economic, and political issues. In order to understand how others react to a certain situation, one must have a quality of mind. In other words, he must have the capacity to shift from one perspective to another. Sociological imagination bears the fruit of empathy, understanding how individual life is shaped due to the social structure, and the connection of their biographies and history of the society. C. Wright Mills believes that the sociological imagination is necessary to see beyond the limited perspectives and boundaries individuals are set upon.
As an American sociologist, Mills published The Sociological Imagination proposing that having a quality of mind is a necessity to understand the relations between…show more content… Wright Mills suggested that sociological imagination can create a bond between groups and individuals through empathy and understanding each other's background. "The first fruit of this imagination - and the first lesson of the social science that embodies it - is the idea that the individual can understand his own experience and gauge his own fate only by locating himself within his period, that he can know his own chances in life only by becoming aware of those of all individuals in his circumstances" (Mills, 1959, p. 6). Mills stated that one may use sociology to compare our circumstances with those others in the same position; using shared feelings to create a bond between the two and further their connections. Although to do so, the being must be aware of his social standings and the opportunities that life presents upon his actions and decisions. This process of realization may create a negative or positive impact on the individual depending on the personal