Messages from Georg Simmel

Horst J. Helle studied business administration, sociology and psychology at the University of Hamburg, leading to a Dr.phil. in 1959 and a Habilitation for Sociology in 1967. He held professor positions in Aachen and Wien; and since 1973 he is profesor at the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Germany.

All those who work in the social sciences and other humanities and who are academic teachers, graduate students, government advisors on issues of social development, and journalists interested in critical thinking.

Introduction

1. The Message of Interpretation
Humanities versus Natural Sciences
The Operation Called Verstehen
The Controversy about Pragmatism
Simmel versus conventional Philosophy
The Influence of Darwin on Philosophy
Simmel’s Critique of Subjectivist Pragmatism
Tension between Culture and the Individual

2. The Message of Change: Society Evolves Over Time
Evolution and Darwin’s “Theory of Descendency”
Change as Differentiation and Individualization
Competition promotes Evolution
Alternative Theories of Evolution

3. The Message of Interaction: How Reality is Constructed
Sociology as the Study of Interaction
Society Emerges in Interaction
Religion as Interaction
Strangeness as Form of Interaction
Encounters between Alien Populations
The Stranger as Innovator

4. The Message of Alienation: Money and Politics
Money as a Paradigm of Cultural Processes
Evaluation and Alienation
Construction of Value in Interaction
Money as a Means of Exchange
Socialism as Result of a Forming Process
Socialism on Happiness
Machine - Factory – Government

5. The Main Thrust of the Messages contra Marx and Weber
Simmel’s Main Thrust against Marx
Simmel’s main Thrust against Weber

6. Background of the Messages: Intellectual Influences
The Platonic Socrates
Plato’s Eternal Ideas
Spinoza
Kant
Dilthey
Summary: Statements about Simmel’s Method

Appendix 1: Biography of Georg Simmel
Appendix 2: Simmel’s Autobiographical Fragment

References
Index