The presentation focus on the work of George Simmel concerning individuality and social forms

1. Georg Simmel (1858-1918)
A review of George Simmel’s book on Individuality and
Social forms
By:Efa Tadesse Debele
Department of Sociology, Addis Ababa University
February 15, 2019

2. Georg Simmel (1858-1918)

3. Individuality and social forms
Part I:Philosophy of the social sciences
How is history possible?
how raw material –theoretical structure
general law-forms of our mind
man-known by nature and history
man-knower-made nature and history
realities are product of creative ego-kant

4. How is society possible?
 nature is representation of nature
 societal unification needs no factors out side its own component
elements, the individuals
 a society is, therefore, a structure which consists of beings who stand
inside and outside of it at the same time.
 this fact forms the basis for one of the most important sociological
phenomenon, namely, that between a society and its component
individuals a realtion may exist as if b/n two parties
 Nature is human imagination
 synthesis-social being
 sociation-psychological process
 individual exist for both society and individual
 individuals as member, product and content of society
 society is synthetic –social being
 society composed of unequal elements

5. The problem of sociology
To form society-reciprocity is inevitable
Form and content –inseparable
Sociation –unification- interaction
As geometry –sociology-see contents of forms
The categories of human experience
social and natural sciences
humanity and individuality
Forms of social interaction
exchange –purest and concentrated
-interaction is exchange


6.  Exchange as creative process
 The significance of sacrifice
 Relativity of value
 Source of value
The process of value formation
 creating objects through exchange
 primitive exchange
 value and price-value is offspring of price
 labour power-sacrifice and gain
-objectification
Forms of appropriation and exchange
The cultural foundations of exchange

7. Conflict form of sociation
The sociological relevance of conflict
 Society via positive and negative forces
 Unit and discord
 Conflict as an integrative force in the group
 Homogeneity and heterogeneity in social relation
 Antagonism as an element is sociation
 Antagonistic game
 Legal conflict
 Conflict over causes –Marx
 Common qualities and common membership in a larger
social structure as bases of conflict
 Conflict in intimate relations

8. Domination –a form of interaction
super ordination and subordination
Authority and prestige
Subordination under an individual
unification of group in opposition to the ruler
dissociating effect of subordination under individual
the’ higher tribunal’
subordination under a plurality
subordination under a principle-law
-person, object/land, conscience
Prostitution-momentary r/n ship and satisfaction
Unindividualistic or individualistic

9. continued
Sociability –play form of association
-coquetry
Social types
the stranger-nearness and remoteness
the poor-beggar, receipt
the miser and spendthrift-greedy and extravagant,
miserliness and prodigality
the adventurer-wholeness of life, skepticism-
believing in nothing
the nobility-b/n upper and lower

10. Forms of individuality
 Freedom and the individual, posthumous
 Individuality-internal and external liberation of individual from
communal forms-constraints-constriction
 Freedom-demand of individual use to cover manifold grievances
and self assertion against society
 freedom and equality
 the deepest point of individuality is the point of universal
equality
 mankind-sacred
 Individualism
 rationalistic liberalism
 freedom and equality-free competition
 differentiated /uniqueness/personality-division of labor

11. Subjective culture-nature and culture
Culture is perfection of man
Cultivation-individual soul-spiritual wholeness
Subjective culture-imperative of individual
Objective culture-cultivated things
Eros, platonic and modern
-subject and object-self and world
-platonic-love-causes reality-love/deamon
-beauty comes and goes
-eros –sexual love, desire
-plato-love=mediates human and divine
-butmodernists-love mediates persons
-beauty of individuality and individuality of beauty

12. Individuality and social structure
Group expansion and development of individuality
Group expansion and the transformation of social bonds
The relations b/n personal and collective individuality
Less circle less freedom of individuality
Illustration of the formula in religious and political
settings
The basic relation as a dualistic drive
The differentiation drive as a heuristic principle
Stages of social commitment
The sociological duality of the family
Methodological implication –family-self and collective


13. CONTINUED
 The indeterminacy of collective individuality
 Attachments b/n the first and third levels
 Freedom and individuality
 Meanings of freedom-from choice of spouse to economic initiative
-freedom limited by individuality
• Meanings of individuality-in sense of freedom, less restraint, being
different
• Individualism and cosmopolitan-humanity-boundless identity-
embracing
• Individuation in the economic sphere-money-cash-economic
individuation
 Political sphere-accentuation of individual power
 Religious sphere-clergy-laity
 General modes of actualization of the correlation

14. The ideals of the equality and unity of
mankind
Unification and equalisation
Extreme individuality with equality of all men-
mankind
Pure –humanity and uniqueness of individual
Ideal –not with-mankind
Christianity and individualism
Group expansion and the determinants of will
-objectivity and subjectivity
-universality and particularistic
-Ethics and interests-cosmopolitan vs patriotism
-

15. continued
Group expansion and consciousness of the ego
-circle and awareness of psyche
Personal autonomy and the elaboration of social
organs
-personal autonomy-self sufficient
-social organ-structural elements
-

16. Fashion
Conflict b/n socialistic adaptation to society and
individual departure from its demand
Socialism vs individualism
Imitation gives to the individual the satisfaction of
not standing alone in his actions
Fashion is imitation reflects attempts
Adjustment –individual and social culture
Social demand and individual need
Consciousness vs material form of life

17. The metropolis and mental life
Blasé out look /attitude-psychic mood, mental
attitude
Self-preservation, valuelessness to objective world
Metropolitan life
A trophy of individual culture and hypertrophy of
objective culture

18. Subordination and personal fulfillment
Super-subordination without degradation
Dissolving dominating structures
Coercion
The inevitably disproportionate distribution of
qualifications and positions
-a priori vs a posteriori

19. Forms and life process; the dialectical
change
Social forms and inner needs
The transcendent character of life
Self-transcendence is common in life
More life and more than life
The conflict in the modern culture
-no shared ideal or ideal at all
-formlessness in contemporary

20. Commentary
Nature and nurture
Human experience-social vs natural science
Value formation-price, labor power and objectification
Sociation
Individuality and freedom-negative not mentioned
Are life, ego, individuality, content not clear
Lack of systematic theory
Disregard academic convention
Priority of either society or individuality no clear
Geometry and Sociology not convincing