Life is filled with many difficulties, which affect us all in one way or another. However, we do not all face the same ones. If we are to survive we need to first understand what these difficulties or problems are, in order to learn how to deal with them. One such problem is, is domestic violence. It is necessary to determine whether the problem is personal one or due to society (social problems), so that the individuals involved can learn how to deal with their situation. The general definition of a personal problem, is one in which it’s causes and solutions lie within the individual. That is, they are caused by an individual’s own feeling about a given situation. For example, someone commits a murder because they are sad or angry. That act was caused by an emotion, and their anger can only be controlled if they learn how to deal with it. A social problem, on the other hand, is one whose causes and solutions lie outside the individual. Which means, there has to be some external factor that has caused an act to take place. For example, someone commits a murder in self-defense. Here the person was forced into committing the act. They had no control over their actions; it was either kill or be killed. This is where the difference between the two lie, one is due to an individuals feelings where as the other is due to another individual or some external factor. This is the foundation of the Sociological Imagination Concept. According to C. Wright Mills, sociological imagination is developed when we can place personal problems in a social situation or environment such that they are no longer viewed solely as individual or personal problems, but instead as social problems. That is problems that are shared by enough people in society such that their causes and solutions lie outside of the individual who is experiencing them. In other words, this theory is based on how the external factors of society affect individuals and the...
