Social imaginaries and the limits of differential meaning

Elaborating on theories of the social imaginary, this contribution addresses the shortcomings of a differential conception of meaning, which is widespread in the social and cultural sciences. After a brief literature review, a preliminary concept of the social imaginary and its sociological relevance will be outlined drawing on the works of Taylor and others. The theoretical argument of this article, the fundamental difference and complementarity between the differential logic of the symbolic and the fuzzy logic of the imaginary, will be developed in a discussion of structuralism and one of its most fervent critics: Castoriadis. The latter developed his account of the social imaginary as a critique of Marxist reductionism, of the structuralist analysis of language and totemism, and of “ensemblistic-identitarian logic” in general. The implications of Castoriadis’ “imaginary significations”—a “magma” of meaning not exhausted by the differential order of signs—will be demonstrated discussing two contemporary sociological theories informed by structuralism as well as poststructuralism: Luhmann’s system theory and the cultural sociology of Alexander and Smith. The social imaginary, as a reservoir of meaning and condition for the emergence of new meanings, not only illuminates the blind spots in these theories, but also has the potential to transform our thinking about culture and society.