The life of a German thinker and sociologist wasintellectually rich. His biography is full of difficulties, but there are many achievements in it. His views became widespread and popular during his lifetime, but the greatest demand for the ideas of Simmel came in the second half of the 20th century.
Born the future philosopher in Berlin, March 1, 1858years in a large family of a wealthy merchant. George's childhood proceeded quite normally, the parents took care of their children, tried to give them a better future. The father, a Jew by birth, adopted the Catholic faith, the mother turned to Lutheranism, in which the children, including Georg, were baptized. Up to 16 years old, the boy went to school safely, demonstrated success in mastering mathematics and history. It seemed that he was waiting for the typical fate of a merchant, but in 1874 Simmel's father died, and George’s life changed. A mother cannot contain a son, and a family friend becomes his custodian. He finances the education of the young man and sponsors his entry to the Faculty of Philosophy at the University of Berlin.
At the University of Simmel studying with outstandingthinkers of his time: Latsarus, Mommsen, Steinthal, Bastian. Already in university times, he vividly demonstrated his dialectical mindset, which would later be celebrated by such philosophers as Pitirim Sorokin, Max Weber and Emil Durkheim. But then the main life conflict is outlined, which will complicate the lives of many people in Europe at that time. Did not become an exception and Georg Simmel, whose biography was very difficult because of his nationality. After completing the course of study at the university, the philosopher tries to defend his doctoral dissertation, but he is refused. The reason is not directly called. But anti-Semitic sentiments prevailed in Berlin at that time and, despite the fact that he was Catholic by religion, he could not hide his Jewish nationality. He had a pronounced Jewish appearance, and this would subsequently prevent him more than once in life. After some time, thanks to perseverance and perseverance, George managed to get a degree, but it did not open the desired doors for him.
After graduating from university, Simmel is looking for a place.teacher, but the permanent job he does not give, again, because of personal data. He gets the position of private assistant professor, who does not bring a guaranteed income, but fully consists of student contributions. Therefore, Simmel gives many lectures and writes a large number of articles that are addressed not only to the academic community, but also to the general public. He was a great speaker, his lectures were characterized by breadth, original approach and interesting presentation. Simmel's lectures were energetic, he knew how to captivate listeners by thinking out loud on a wide variety of topics. He had consistent success with students and local intelligentsia, for 15 years of work in this position he won certain fame and made friends with significant thinkers of his environment, for example, with Max Weber. But for a long time the philosopher did not seriously recognize the scientific community, sociology had not yet won the status of a fundamental discipline. The Berlin circle of scientists laughed at the original thinker, and it hurt him. Although he persistently continued to work: to ponder, write articles, give lectures.
In 1900, however, he receives and officialrecognition, he is awarded the title of honorary professor, but still he still does not achieve the desired status. Only in 1914, he finally becomes an academic professor. By this time he already had more than 200 scientific and popular scientific publications. But the position he receives is not in his native university in Berlin, but in the provincial Strasbourg, which was the source of his experiences until the end of his life. He did not converge with the local scientific elite, and the last years of his life felt loneliness and alienation.
Georg Simmel was different from his greatcontemporaries lack of clear affiliation to any philosophical course. His path was full of throwing, he thought about many things, finding such objects for philosophical reflection that had not previously been interested in thinkers. The lack of a clear position did not work in favor of Simmel. This was another reason for the difficulty of integrating the philosopher into the scientific community. But precisely because of this breadth of thought, he was able to contribute to the development of several important topics of philosophy at once. In science, many people whose work begins to be appreciated only years later, and such was Georg Simmel. The biography of the thinker is full of work and endless reflections.
Диссертация Георга Зиммеля была посвящена И.Kantu. In it, the philosopher tried to comprehend the a priori principles of social order. The beginning of the path of the thinker is also illuminated by the influence of C. Darwin and G. Spencer. In line with their concepts, Simmel interpreted the theory of knowledge, revealing the natural-biological basis of ethics. The philosopher saw the existence of a person in society as a central problem of his thinking, therefore he is ranked as the direction called “philosophy of life”. He connects knowledge with the concept of life and sees its main law in going beyond biological limits. Human existence cannot be considered outside of its natural conditionality, however, it is impossible to reduce everything only to them, since this coarsens the meaning of being.
In Berlin, Simmel, along with like-minded people,among which were M. Weber and F. Tennis, organized by the German Society of Sociologists. He was actively thinking about the object, subject and structure of the new science, formulated the principles of social order. Describing the society, Georg Simmel, social interaction was presented as a result of the contacts of many people. At the same time, he derived the main signs of social order. Among them are such as the number of participants in the interaction (they can not be less than three), the relationship between them, the highest form of which is cohesion, and social space. It is he who introduces this term into scientific use, which designates the sphere of communication, which participants define as their own. He calls money and socialized intelligence the most important social forces. Simmel creates a classification of forms of social existence, which is based on the degree of proximity or distance from the "flow of life." Life is presented to the philosopher as a chain of experiences that are simultaneously determined by biology and culture.
Georg Simmel pondered a lot about socialprocesses and the nature of modern culture. He recognized that money was the most important driving force in society. He wrote a great work “The Philosophy of Money”, in which he described their social functions, discovered their useful and negative impact on modern society. He said that, ideally, a single currency should be created that can ease cultural contradictions. He was pessimistic about the social possibilities of religion and the future of modern culture.
Общество, по мнению Зиммеля, основывается на feud The interaction of people in society always takes the form of a struggle. Competition, submission and domination, the division of labor are all forms of hostility that necessarily lead to social conflicts. Simmel believed that they initiate the formation of new norms and values of society, they are an integral element of the evolution of society. The philosopher also revealed a number of other functions of the conflict, built a typology, described its stages, outlined methods for its settlement.
Reflections on social forms are the basisphilosophy, the author of which Georg Simmel. Fashion, in his opinion, is an important element of modern society. In his work The Philosophy of Fashion, he explored the phenomenon of this social process and came to the conclusion that it appears only with urbanization and modernization. In the Middle Ages, for example, it did not exist, says Georg Simmel. The theory of fashion proceeds from the fact that it satisfies the need of individuals for identification, helps new social groups to win their place in society. Fashion is a sign of democratic societies.
The significance of the work of Simmel is difficult to overestimate.He is one of the founders of sociology, identifies the causes of social development, interprets the role of money and fashion in the culture of humanity. Georg Simmel, whose conflictology became the basis for the social philosophy of the second half of the 20th century, left serious work on social confrontations. He had a significant influence on the formation of the American direction of sociology and became the forerunner of postmodern thinking.
