Georg Simmel: Biography Of This German Philosopher And Sociologist
Throughout history, different cultures and societies have been born, developed and died, generating a large number of ways of thinking and seeing the world. Philosophy and sociology are fundamental elements to understand not only its evolution, but also the functioning of society and the discussion regarding multiple aspects of life.
There have been many authors who have developed both disciplines, but not so many have gone on to carry out microsociological analyzes such as interpersonal relationships or the structuring of reasoning. One of them, who would serve as a precursor to symbolic interactionism and the scientific development of sociology, was Georg Simmel. This author participated in the early stages of sociology and developed his own philosophical thought.
Throughout this article Let’s see a brief biography of Georg Simmel
Georg Simmel was born in Berlin on March 1, 1858, the seventh and youngest child of Edward and Flora Simmel. His family, of Jewish origin, was prosperous and cultured, although his relationship with his mother was never close as she was excessively authoritarian. Despite this, and regardless of whether his parents had converted to Christianity, Throughout his life he had to face anti-Semitism that was widespread in society
His father died in 1874, something that would end up putting his family in a precarious economic situation. At that time a family friend, Julius Friedländer, took charge and became little Georg’s guardian. Thanks to him He was able to study in a Berlin Gymnasium finishing secondary education before entering university.
University training and beginning of teaching activity
After completing primary and secondary studies, Simmel enrolled at the University of Berlin in order to study philosophy and history, subjects in which he was deeply interested, in addition to attending lessons in social sciences and psychology.
During his training, which he completed entirely in Berlin, He made contact with important philosophers, anthropologists and psychologists and would study works such as Kant’s Despite this, he had difficulties during his studies: in 1880 the university rejected a work that he intended to use as a doctoral thesis, referring to the origin of music. Fortunately, and after changing the topic towards metaphysics, he managed to obtain a doctorate with the thesis The nature of matter according to Kant’s physical monadology (thesis that even received a prize from the Kaiser).
After completing his studies, he achieved, not without some effort, the qualification to be appointed privatdozent, a private teacher, in 1885: a position that was little valued but which allowed him to remain in contact with the university. Despite this, his great training and interest in multiple subjects made him a deeply popular teacher and loved by his students, since in addition to working on unusual areas of philosophy, he tried to bring them closer to topics close to those who attended them.
Publications and personal relationships
Likewise, during this period he would also begin to write publications that little by little would gain more and more prestige, even at an international level. In 1890 he married Gertrude Kinel, a painter and intellectual with whom he had a son and through which he met and established a good relationship with thinkers such as Max Weber.
In this context he began to develop some of his most relevant philosophical works, introducing and being one of the precursors of sociology as a science with publications such as On social differentiation or Introduction to moral science, in which worked on topics such as sociology or the impossibility of working on scientific ethics beyond mere description
In addition to said author, Simmel began to hold several gatherings with great authors such as Stefan George, Edmund Husserl and Walter Benjamin. He also made several trips to Italy. In 1900, the University recognized his multiple contributions by naming him extraordinary professor, but despite this, it did not accept him as a professor (something that provoked the indignation of many intellectuals).
In 1908 he published Sociology, helping to establish this discipline at a scientific level. Also at this time he focused on the concept of life, leaving aside the field of sociology as such and entering a more metaphysical and existentialist area.
Despite the marginality to which his origin condemned him, He managed to found the German Society of Sociology together with Weber Around 1914, coinciding with the First World War, the University finally gave him a professorship.
Legacy in sociology and philosophy
Unfortunately, throughout 1918 the author contracted liver cancer, which ended up causing his death shortly after. Georg Simmel died on September 28, 1918, in the city of Strasbourg In his last year he would produce publications such as The conflict of Modern Culture either Intuition of life: four metaphysical chaptersin the last of which we see his metaphysical position in his later times.
Simmel’s contributions are unmentionable: despite being relatively little known and having been marginalized by the academic field of his time, he contributed greatly to establishing sociology as a science, working on aspects such as authority and individuality or personal relationships. He was also a controversial and interesting philosopher who touched on topics such as immortality, moral relativism, life, love and ethics, and whose works served as inspiration for numerous later authors.
