Georg Simmel

Georg Simmel was a German sociologist and philosopher who is regarded as one of the founders of modern sociology. He was also a prolific writer and critic of art, culture, and modernity. He developed a distinctive approach to sociology that emphasized the forms and dynamics of social interaction, rather than the content or structure of social institutions. He also introduced concepts such as social distance, the stranger, the triad, formal sociology, and the tragedy of culture. Simmel was born in Berlin in 1858 to a Jewish family that had converted to Christianity. He studied philosophy and history at the University of Berlin, where he obtained his doctorate in 1881. He became a lecturer at the same university in 1885, but faced discrimination and hostility from his colleagues because of his Jewish origin and unconventional views. He was denied a full professorship until 1914, when he moved to the University of Strasbourg. He died in 1918 from liver cancer. Simmel's main works include The Problems of the Philosophy of History (1892), The Philosophy of Money (1900), The Metropolis and Mental Life (1903), Sociology (1908), and The View of Life (1918). In these works, he explored various topics such as money, fashion, urban life, individuality, religion, conflict, culture, and art. He was influenced by Kant, Hegel, Schopenhauer, Nietzsche, and Weber, among others. He also influenced many sociologists and philosophers such as Durkheim, Weber, Park, Simmel, Lukács, Benjamin, Adorno, and Luhmann.