Instituting imaginary and social theory

Abstract

The concept of «imaginary» and the work of C. Castoriadis, its main promoter, have had a marginal and usually partial insertion in sociology’s theoretical tradition. This article attempts a sociological take on Castoriadis, but not under the «scolastic» (Bourdieu) intent of intertwining schools of thoughts and traditions, but to revitalize and to give some fresh air to the sociological theory’s foundations. This can be done, this article argues, through Castoriadis’ work. In particular, this article states that Castoriadis’ philosophy proposes a rearrangement of ontological foundations of social theory, and that it provides some elements in order to achieve that. His concept of «radical imagination» paves the way for a reconsideration of social action theory. Each section of the article deals with a topic, linking the general and the specific levels.