社会学的想象与想象的社会学:帕森斯、米尔斯社会学研究进路比较论要

Abstract

Abstract:

Talcott Parsons' social theory and C. Wright Mills' social research represent two important and distinctive approaches in American sociology after World War II. This paper begins with a discussion of the differences between Parsons and Mills in the 1950s in order to make an in-depth investigation into the research orientation of these two sociologists. Parsons' grand theory of social science,referred by himself as his research approach,focuses on the dynamics of reciprocity between theory and experience,attempting to provide social science research with a mutual theoretical base and a common language and thus to promote an accumulative development of social science. However,building a unified social science,much like building an academic Tower of Babel,is an unachievable goal. Meanwhile,Mills' sociological imagination is a different research approach that is guided by political imagination. Inevitably,it introduces a dilemma of double sociological and political imaginations. The two research approaches understandably have resulted in very different conclusions about American society. Parsons insists on a liberal pluralistic interpretation of society and puts forward a comprehensive analysis of an interconnected common American society. In contrast,Mills is a fierce critic of American society,a power concentrated elitist society in his eyes. Nevertheless,his disenchantment never stops Mills' hope for a political "public" that would remake history. The difference in their research approaches reflects the deep political division between Parsons and Mills. As a political liberal,Parsons' views on modernity represent a type of moderate and rational optimism,while Mills' political position can only be described as a peculiar mixture of radical utopianism and nostalgic romanticism.

Key words: sociological imagination, Talcott Parsons, empirical-theoretical system, C. Wright Mills, American society

ZHAO Liwei. Sociological Imagination and Imaginary Sociology: An Outline on the Comparison between Parsons' and Mills' Sociological Approaches[J]. Chinese Journal of Sociology, 2016, 36(6): 97-125.

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[1]	ZHAO Liwei. Melancholoa fin-de-siècle and American Ethos: Parsons and the Modern Transition of Classical Social Theory [J]. Chinese Journal of Sociology, 2015, 35(6): 1-30.
[2]	WEN Xiang, Institute of Sociology, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. From the “Mass Society” to “The Sociological Imagination”: Understanding an Intrinsic Clue to C. Wright Mills’s Sociological Writings [J]. Chinese Journal of Sociology, 2012, 32(4): 1-23.
[3]	Zheng Congjin. Book Review Between Modern Sociology and Postmodern Theory——Rereading Mills’ “The Sociological Imagination” [J]. Chinese Journal of Sociology, 2007, 27(1): 180-180 .

Sociological Imagination and Imaginary Sociology: An Outline on the Comparison between Parsons' and Mills' Sociological Approaches

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