58 THE SOCIAL THEORY OF GEORG SIMMEL
society for granted. In this field two different kinds of
problems are dealt with, although in actual treatment they
are usually not kept separate and distinct.
Dissatisfaction with the fragmentary character of sci-
entific knowledge and the early exhaustion of the actually
demonstrable data and the series of provable facts lead to
an attempt at completion by means of speculation. Specu-
lation is also the means by which the disconnected and
incoherent fields of empirical knowledge are combined into
a unitary synthesis. In this field the results of the differ-
ent social sciences are correlated with the results of other
sciences. In this field the metaphysical need for a unitary
picture of the social manifoldness is satisfied by synthesiz-
ing the fragmentary results of the empirical inquiries or by
interpreting a whole range of phenomena in terms of a se-
lected phenomenon as its symbol and essence.!
Apart from this metaphysical inquiry which is direct-
ed toward the degree of knowledge, there is a second meta-
physical inquiry which deals with existence in a different
dimension. It deals with problems and questions regarding
the meaning, the purpose, the absolute substance, and the
religious significance of social life. It results from a spirit-
ual attitude which asks questions like the following: Is
society the goal and the purpose of individual existence or
a means for the enrichment of individual life? Is it, per-
haps, instead of being a means, an obstruction to the reali-
zation of individual perfection? Is the value of society to
be found in its functional life, in the formation of an objec-
tive spirit, or in the ethical qualities which it calls forth in
the individual?
These questions cannot be answered by means of ascer-
taining facts. They aim at a valuation of observed facts
and at the construction of an inclusive view out of the un-
1 For an interpretation of modern society in terms of money as its symbol
and essential category, see Book III.
