The social Theory of Georg Simmel

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Monograph

Identifikator:: 1024612627

URN:: urn:nbn:de:zbw-retromon-166627

Document type:: Monograph

Author:: Spykman, Nicholas J. http://d-nb.info/gnd/124229867

Title:: The social Theory of Georg Simmel

Place of publication:: Chicago

Publisher:: Univ. of Chicago Press.

Year of publication:: 1925

Scope:: XXIX, 297 S

Digitisation:: 2022

Collection:: Economics Books

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e Po ye e Ni nr 1e Le ee An Pp Se Ar in rl 5. {a D Aq, 1 C= ‘ie Nn aq T 4 T= [1 mn ee. IN NUMERICAL RELATIONS OF SOCIAL FORMS 131 experience which signifies a well-defined relation to society. But apart from this, it is important for large groups as well as for the most intimate relations to which its occur- rence either as cause or as effect lends a distinct character. Not only isolation, but also freedom, appears in the first place as a negation of socialization, as an absence of all social restraint. This may describe the position of a Christian or Hindu hermit or of a solitary settler, but for a social being freedom has a much more positive meaning. It appears as a continuous process of emancipation from social restraints, as a struggle, not merely for independ- ence, but for the right to enter voluntarily into dependence, as a struggle which must be renewed after each victory. Freedom as a negative social attitude is almost never a permanent possession. It is a process of incessant libera- tion from restraints which limit in reality or attempt to limit ideally the independence of the individual. It is not a being, but a becoming, a sociological activity. Itisarela- tionship, even if observed from the standpoint of the agent. Not only in its functional aspect, but also with regard to the content, does freedom mean more than absence of restraint. Freedom from the influence of others would in numerous cases have no meaning or significance for the individual if it did not facilitate an extension of his will over others. While apparently negative in character, free- dom has therefore in reality a very positive significance. Freedom consists to a large extent in a process of liberation, and it obtains meaning and significance as a reaction against restraint. But it also consists in a position of strength in the relations with others, in the possibility of self-assertion in these relations, and in the opportunity for making others tributarv or subject. It is in these relation- ships that it finds its positive value and realization.! 1 Soz., pp. 76-80.

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