Comparing Berger And Mills's View Of Sociology

In the works “Sociology as a Passion to Understand”, written by Berger, and “The Sociological Imagination”, written by Mills, sociology encourages us to examine how our personal lives connect with the larger world. While Berger and Mills both support that the sociologist must fully commit to their work, they have differing opinions concerning why the sociologist behaves the way that they do. The sociological perspective introduced by Berger is supported by Mills’ foundation of the sociological imagination. For sociology to satisfy both the ordinary citizen and the sociologist it requires not only an in-depth inquiry of society and social relations, but a broader view of how society and social relations influence and reflect individuals.

The uniting force between “Sociology as a Passion to Understand” and “The Sociological Imagination” is the agreed notion that a sociological perspective is necessary to properly employ sociology.

However it is best to first establish how sociology is misused when not imposed correctly. Berger criticizes the ordinary citizen who attempts to understand sociology by confusing it with fields of work that it can apply to. “Sociology is not a practice but an attempt to understand“; Berger elaborates this point by explaining why society must use the sociological perspective to correctly use their sociological knowledge. Mills has a similar contention with the misuse of sociology. The private orbs people find themselves stuck in remain intact unless they use their sociological imagination (Mills). Our sociological imaginations come from our ability to switch to and from differing social perspectives. If we are to practice sociology we must be able to envision how individual lives affect the world as a whole and vice versa. Anthony Giddens has described the individual who can embrace the sociological imagination as one who is able to “pull themselves away from the situation and to be able to think from an alternative point of view”. In other words, the ability to utilize sociological perspectives is a prerequisite for seeing the world through the sociological imagination. Therefore the authors support each other’s claims in these

readings.
These readings are grouped together based on the codependence of Berger’s sociological perspective and Mills’ sociological imagination, however the motivation for participating in these methods differs between the authors. Berger’s primary motivation appears to be so that he is scientifically correct and fulfilling the “ideal sociologist” role. The only fundamental role of being a sociologist is to maintain scientific integrity (Berger). Whereas Mills, while discussing the same strive we should all be making to see the world in a broader sense, does not mention any ideal type of sociologist that he promotes. The main contention here is that Berger voices his preference for a scientific approach in “Sociology as a Passion” rather blatantly. This article of Mills’ does not indicate in words that he prefers this “value-free” sociology. Based upon Mills’ belief that the sociological imagination relies on us being free of bias, we assume Mills does support the same mindset as Berger in this sense. However Mills ignores this point in this article and focuses more time on why the sociological imagination is superior to other ways of thought. Berger clearly stresses the scientific approach significantly more than Mills does in the readings and therefore places more importance in it.
Berger and Mills come together to emphasize the importance of the meeting of biography and history in society. Their findings concerning the sociological perspective and sociological imagination support each other; a new sociological perspective stimulates our sociological imagination. The effects of globalization and western-assimilation are growing rapidly, as Americans we can stay in our private sphere and remain ignorant to how we are affecting the rest of the world. If we want to stay knowledgeable about how we are affecting the rest of the world, and how they are affecting us, ordinary people must take it upon themselves to seek new sociological perspectives and use the sociological imagination that will broaden our minds.