Social Theorists
Georg Simmel
Sociology
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Georg Simmel was a German sociologist and philosopher regarded as a founder of formal sociology, the study of the recurring forms taken by social interaction independent of their particular content. Rather than building grand theories of society as a whole, Simmel analyzed specific social forms and processes, including exchange, conflict, fashion, secrecy, the stranger, and the effects of the modern metropolis on mental life, most famously in his essay The Metropolis and Mental Life. His attention to the texture of everyday interaction and to numerical forms such as the dyad and the triad influenced the Chicago School of sociology and later symbolic interactionism.
Facts
Nationality / Culture Defining ContributionA founding figure of sociology whose neo-Kantian approach helped establish sociological antipositivism and who pioneered analysis of individuality and social fragmentation through the concepts of social 'forms' and 'contents'. 1 Notable WorkThe Metropolis and Mental Life 1 Cross-Tradition Connections
Institutions Informed
Park studied under Simmel in Berlin before returning to the United States to found the Chicago School of urban sociology.
Sources
1. Georg Simmel (Wikipedia)
WikipediaOpening sentence (birth date)Quote, Opening sentence (birth date)
Georg Simmel (; German: [ˈzɪml̩]; 1 March 1858 – 26 September 1918) was a German sociologist, philosopher, and critic.
1. Georg Simmel (Wikipedia)
WikipediaOpening sentence (birth year)Quote, Opening sentence (birth year)
Georg Simmel (; German: [ˈzɪml̩]; 1 March 1858 – 26 September 1918) was a German sociologist, philosopher, and critic.
1. Georg Simmel (Wikipedia)
WikipediaOpening sentence (death date)Quote, Opening sentence (death date)
Georg Simmel (; German: [ˈzɪml̩]; 1 March 1858 – 26 September 1918) was a German sociologist, philosopher, and critic.
1. Georg Simmel (Wikipedia)
WikipediaOpening sentence (death year)Quote, Opening sentence (death year)
Georg Simmel (; German: [ˈzɪml̩]; 1 March 1858 – 26 September 1918) was a German sociologist, philosopher, and critic.
1. Georg Simmel (Wikipedia)
WikipediaBiography, Early life and education sectionQuote, Biography, Early life and education section
Georg Simmel was born in Berlin, Germany, as the youngest of seven children to an assimilated Jewish family.
1. Georg Simmel (Wikipedia)
WikipediaOpening sentence (nationality)Quote, Opening sentence (nationality)
Georg Simmel (; German: [ˈzɪml̩]; 1 March 1858 – 26 September 1918) was a German sociologist, philosopher, and critic.
1. Georg Simmel (Wikipedia)
WikipediaLead paragraph, third paragraphQuote, Lead paragraph, third paragraph
In "The Metropolis and Mental Life", Simmel anticipates urban sociology, symbolic interactionism, and social network analysis.
1. Georg Simmel (Wikipedia)
WikipediaLead paragraph, first and second sentencesQuote, Lead paragraph, first and second sentences
A founding figure of sociology, his neo-Kantian approach helped establish sociological antipositivism, asking "What is society?" in analogy to Kant's "What is nature?". He pioneered analyses of individuality and social fragmentation.
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