Sociology: Inquiries into the Construction of Social Forms, 2 volume set

Georg Simmel's highly original take on the newly revived field of sociology succeeded in making the field far more sophisticated than it had been beforehand. He took insights from dialectical thought and Kantian epistemology to develop a 'form sociology' method that remains implicit in the field a century later. Forms include such patterns of interaction as inequality, secrecy, membership in multiple groups, organization size, and coalition formation. While today texts and professional societies are organized around 'contents' rather than 'forms', a fresh reading of Simmel's chapters on forms suggests original avenues of inquiry into each of the contents - family, business, religion, politics, labor relations, and leisure. Brill VOLUME 1 2 CONTENTS 8 Foreword by Georg Simmel 10 Acknowledgments 12 A Note on the Translation 14 Introduction to the Translation, by Horst J. Helle 18 Chapter One The Problem of Sociology 36 Excursus on the Problem: How is Society Possible? 57 Chapter Two The Quantitative Conditioning of the Group 70 Chapter Three Domination and Subordination 146 Excursus on Outvoting 193 Chapter Four Conflict 244 Chapter Five The Secret and the Secret Society 324 Excursus on Jewelry and Adornment 349 Excursus on Written Communication 359 VOLUME 2 380 CONTENTS 385 Chapter Six The Intersection of Social Circles 386 Chapter Seven The Poor Person 432 Excursus on the Negativity of Collective Behavior 448 Chapter Eight The Self-Preservation of the Group 466 Excursus on Hereditary Offi ce 484 Excursus on Social Psychology 520 Excursus on Fidelity and Gratitude 540 Chapter Nine Space and the Spatial Ordering of Society 566 Excursus on Social Boundary 574 Excursus on the Sociology of Sense Impression 593 Excursus on the Stranger 624 Chapter Ten The Expansion of the Group and the Development of Individuality 644 Excursus on the Nobility 664 Excursus on the Analogy of the Individual Psychological and the Sociological Relationships 689 Index of Names 700 Index of Topics 702 ISBN-13:,9789004173217 Georg Simmel developed a "form" method for the newly revived field of sociology, drawing on the subjectivity/objectivity dialectic. While his book's organization differs from that of contemporary texts, his method remains implicit in the field to this day. By Georg Simmel ; Translated And Edited By Anthony J. Blasi, Anton K. Jacobs, Mathew Kanjirathinkal ; With An Introduction By Horst J. Helle. Includes Bibliographical References And Indexes.