The Socialism of to-day

Bibliographic data

Monograph

Identifikator:: 835096955

URN:: urn:nbn:de:zbw-retromon-28834

Document type:: Monograph

Author:: Laveleye, Émile de

Title:: The Socialism of to-day

Place of publication:: London

Publisher:: Field & Tuer

Year of publication:: 1884

Scope:: 1 Online-Ressource (XLIV, 331 S.)

Collection:: Economics Books

Usage license:: Get license information via the feedback formular.

66 THE SOCIAL THEORY OF GEORG SIMMEL tive in palm trees build these palm trees into characteristic forms which are different from those of other trees, yet one does not speak of the specific laws of palm growth. Historical material develops into specific forms in a similar fashion, but there are no specific laws of historical growth. There is not a second law of a higher order above the laws of the first order which regulate the movements of the primary elements. The only realities in the development of a historical complex are the movements of the primary elements and the laws that regulate these movements. If the sum of these movements is viewed as a synthetic unity, we cannot claim a new law for that unity as an independent complex, because every composing movement is already determined by and related to its cause.! Historical laws, therefore, are related to the actually effective laws as philosophic knowledge is related to exact knowledge. They are formulations for occurrences and re- lationships which resemble philosophic speculations, and, like the latter, they may be regarded either as forerunners of exact knowledge, as preliminary formulations, or as sat- isfactory projections of the actuality on a distinct and dif- ferent plane. Viewed as the precursors of exact knowledge, they have a value only in relation to exact science. Viewed as satisfactory projections of the actuality, they have a val- ue in and for themselves independent of any correspond- ence to objective reality. Considered as anticipations of the exact knowledge of the historical occurrence, the historical laws are but the first steps. We are forced to stop first at certain regularities on the surface of historical life until the laws which describe the actual relations between the smallest elements are known. Without further investigation these regularities are formulated in abstract rules which in a sense explain 1 Probl. der Gesch., pp. 77-85.

Access restriction

Copyright

fullscreen: The Socialism of to-day

Monograph

Table of contents

Download

Monograph

This page

Image fragment

Citation links

Citation recommendation