The Painstakingly Examined Life: Adopting a Sociological Imagination

“The unexamined life is not worth living.”

Admittedly, the first time I heard this quote I had no idea who it was from.

A teacher’s assistant in one of my first-year university courses said this in an opening seminar. Interestingly, they sped over this statement in their address to the class. It was stated so plainly, as if saying that "the unexamined life is not worth living" were comparable to declaring that the sky is blue or that water freezes in the winter. To a room of new (mostly) 18 year-old undergraduates though, this declaration in its full meaning had far from penetrated the perspectives of university students in their first few weeks of classes — that is, as far as I could tell from surveying the likes of my peers.

Returning to this Socratic idea now, 4 years later, I realize that this sentence - a quick statement that I had heard on my first day of university - well encapsulates the grander story of an education in sociology.

From my early introductory classes, it became strikingly clear that a degree in sociology is truly a study in ‘examined life.’ The concept we use to denote this mission of examining-the-ordinary is known as “the sociological imagination.” This term comes to us from American sociologist, C. Wright Mills. While much can be (and has been) written on this canonical idea, I’d rather let Mills sum up the sociological imagination in his own words:

“The sociological imagination enables its possessor to understand the larger historical scene in terms of its meaning for the inner life and the external career of a variety of individuals.” (Mills, 1959, p. 5)

“The sociological imagination enables us to grasp history and biography and the relations between the two within society. That is its task and its promise.” (p. 6)

Once again, it's hard to add-on to a concept that is so infamous and widely-cited. For the purpose of this introductory post, I'll keep my comments brief.

I want to harp on the language of "imagination" used by Mills.

Some may interpret the use of this word to mean that sociologists are 'inventing' or 'appearing' social phenomenon into the world for their study. I've seen many folks make a similar assumption when they observe social scientists referring to something as a "social construction." Again, some believe that to define something as socially constructed is the same thing as declaring that it is not real -- or, more appropriately, that it is imaginary.

On both accounts, I would call this an incorrect assessment. Instead, I believe that Mills chose the word imagination intentionally, as a nod to the idea of creating that is implicit in the word's definition. This is to say that sociologists are not 'injecting' new behaviours, patterns or trends into social life, but are creating new conclusions about those which already exist.

Further, Mills' choice of terminology feels special for another reason.

The word 'imagination' invokes a lot of magical associations. For a lot of us, it feels like we start life with abundant imagination. You could compare it to the classic example of sand in an hourglass. After childhood, the glass tilts upside down. The sand keeps pouring out with each passing year. As adults, perhaps we don't notice it right away. The sand pours so slowly, it seems sometimes that none of it is escaping the glass at all. Nevertheless, many people, regardless of their education or interests, would probably say that they wish to have more imagination -- that they feel the 'emptying' of the metaphorical glass.

With that in mind, the outlook on sociology becomes a lot more magical. It is a discipline built on and through the great aspects of life that many of us grow up to chase (back) after: wonder, curiosity, creativity, imagination.

I think it's important to start this blog on that note; to diagnose this feeling behind the 'specialness' of sociology; a field for the curious kids and the unashamed imagineers.