Anna Kosloski
The Sociology of Georg Simmel
Edited by Kurt H. Wolff
Why Question: Why are social relationships sustained in modern life? How do these relationships differ in closed vs. open societies?
Motivational Mechanism: Reciprocal knowledge in all its formations becomes the key element in human interaction. For Simmel,
knowledge operates on a spectrum with varying degrees of truth which is based on the nature of the relationship and the standpoint of
the individual.
Terms:
 Knowledge- in this sense becomes an acknowledgment of another that is the foundation for the exchange of human interaction
(307). Knowledge in this sense takes on multiple forms and concepts, including:
1.) Knowledge of One Another
2.) Knowledge of External Nature vs. Knowledge of the Persons
3.) Knowledge of Total Reality (Truth, Error, and Social Life)
4.) The Individual as the Object of Knowledge
5.) Psychic Process
6.) The Lie
 Standpoint- the result of the overall relation between knower and known. “One can never know another person absolutely”
therefore our limited knowledge is based on what our “standpoint permits us to see” (308).
 Lie – is the act of hiding a true idea from another (312). Lies are socially significant as modern culture bases decisions on
information that cannot always be verified. According to Simmel we rely on faith that we will not be betrayed (313). Example:
credit economy
 Secret- is the “hiding of realities by negative or positive means” (330). According to Simmel in a sociological sense the secret is
value neutral as it may “absorb the highest values” or may offer a connection to “moral badness” (331). The secret is categorized
by its sheer existence, the behavior of the concealer and the secrecy between individuals or groups (330). Secrets provide
positions of power.
 Adornment- interwoven connections between the external and internal as an individual does something to please others but in the
same sense by pleasing others they also serve their own ego (339). Adornment also becomes a direct representation of social
power (343).
 Secret Society- categorized by the secret reciprocal relations between group members that practices internal confidence and
protection of the secret/society (345). Additionally these societies are characterized by: silence, hierarchy, ritual, freedom, etc.
1
Visual Representation:
2