"Social imaginary" in the psychological structure of the everyday life

Abstract

The article views the psychology of the everyday life that originated in Austria-Hungary and Germany (S.Freud and the Alltagspsychologie tradition) and has not been much developed yet. The main issues in the design of modern studies of the everyday life are the psychological definition of the subject and the choice of suitable analysis methods. The traditional division the imaginary / real in social cognition does not work any more (the theme of the relationship between the image of the world and the real world in the Russian scientific school of social psychology founded by G.M.Andreeva). The study of the everyday life involves the introduction of a new category "social imaginary" or "imagination" that becomes a basis for the symbolic structures of social representations and collective emotions. It pays close attention to the French tradition (S.Moscovici, J.Lacan, K.Castoriadis, the Annals school) and the imaginary communities’ concept (B.Anderson). The recommended methods for study of the social imaginary in the everyday life are ethnography and field research. The innovative strategies of visual ethnography, nethnography and auto-ethnography make possible to reconstruct different life worlds and hidden forms of social cognition in public discourse. Presumably, these hidden forms of social cognition can be coping strategies with social changes and problems. The article demonstrates the results of a pilot ethnographic research in the field of the specific life world of the Moscow esoteric organization. The preliminary conclusion – esoteric practice is a cultural device of subjection in the post-Soviet society, which signifies personal and social problems, repressed by the culture of everyday life.