Georg Simmel (1858-1918)

Abstract

This article presents a general overview of the life and thoughts of Georg Simmel from the perspective of the social sciences. After a brief biographical introduction, a discussion of those aspects of his oeuvre, which enjoy close proximity with the social sciences, particularly sociology, will constitute the main focus of the article. Together with Max Weber and Emile Durkheim, Simmel is one of the great classical theorists of sociology, and, as will be shown herein, contributed substantially to the development of the discipline, freeing it from needing to be an all-encompassing study of society as a whole. Thus, an overview of Simmel's fundamental theoretical concepts will be delivered, with the aim of illustrating his central relevance to the field of the social sciences.