The concept of the social imaginary has been introduced as an alternative to theories of the imagination. Whereas the imagination tends to be conceived as a faculty that we possess as individuals, the concept of social imaginary is meant to encompass significations within which individuals are socialized and that thus precede the formation of individuals themselves. To put it bluntly, we could say that, whereas the imagination is a faculty that an individual possesses, the social imaginary is the social context that possesses individuals. In this article, I would like to reconstruct the dilemmas that surround this conceptual couple and argue for a theory of the imaginal as a solution to such dilemmas. In conclusion, I will also argue that the concept of the imaginal is a much more malleable tool in terms of social ontology, because it is able to overcome the social versus individual dichotomy, moving towards an alternative ontology of the transindividual. In a time when social boundaries are being contested by globalization from above and from below, and in which risks proving an outdated tool for social inquiry, the concept of the imaginal is a much more promising tool, whether one decides to embark on an alternative social ontology or not.
