Georg Simmel - First Generation Sociologist.
On March 1, 1858, German sociologist, philosopher and critic Georg Simmel was born. Along with Max Weber and Emile Durkheim Simmel was one of the first generation sociologists, questioning the definition of society, nature, and culture. Georg Simmel was born, grew up and spent most of his research time in Berlin. He earned his doctorate in philosophy and history in 1881 and afterwards became a private teacher at the University, lecturing philosophy, logic, ethics, art, and sociology. But even though Simmel's lectures were highly popular in the University and beyond and his friend Max Weber supported him, he was not able to establish himself as an official lecturer at the university until 1901. Often the scientific community mocked Simmel for the reason that his articles were written for the general public instead of a scientific audience. On the other hand, this made Simmel so famous. Not only in Germany, but also across Europe and America his writings were highly appreciated and he became one of the most influential of his field of research. Along with Max Weber and Ferdinand Tönnies, Georg Simmel founded the German Society for Sociology. The outbreak of World War I caused nearly all German Universities to halt, since the lecture halls were transformed into shelter and hospital facilities, which basically meant to be the end of Simmel's professional career. He did not survive the war and passed away in 1918 due to cancer. To Simmel's most important works belongs the essay 'The Metropolis and Mental Life' from 1903, which originated in a lecture series on the city by Simmel. Even though this work counts as one of Simmel's most significant, it was not very well received in his lifetime. When exhibited at the Dresden cities exhibition of 1903, the exhibitors mainly focused on Simmel's negative comments on city life rather than pointing out his positive arguments. Still, the essay reached a great audience and critically influenced the 'Chicago School' of sociology in the 1920s and '30s. In the middle of the 20th century, it was translated into English and published as part of the collection 'The Sociology of Georg Simmel', still taught in most sociology classes in Europe. 'The Philosophy of Money' depicts Simmel's major work, in which he defines money as an important part of human lives helping us to understand life's totality. The work is also linked with his ideas on city life. According to Simmel, city life is responsible for the division of labor and the increase of financialization. In his means, it then becomes more important what a person can do rather than who the person really is as a consequence to these increasing financial transactions. His work caused very diverse reactions and often, Simmel has been misinterpreted during his lifetime. Georg Simmel counts as one of the most important sociologists of all times and influenced not only colleagues of his time, like Max Weber, he also left much to discuss for later researchers on the field like Jürgen Habermas or Erving Goffman. At yovisto, you may enjoy the video lecture 'Weber on Protestantism and Capitalism' by Ivan Szelenyi of Yale University.