Causality or Interaction? Simmel, Weber and Interpretive Sociology

Lichtblau, Klaus

doi:10.1177/026327691008003003

Cited by 7 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 13 publications

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“…Early "symbolic interactionists"-from Cooley (1902) and Simmel (1908) to Mead (1934) and others-emphasized the reflexive relationship of "self" and "other" (cf. Lichtblau 1991). In interaction, people act toward others (and themselves) as symbolic objects; by imaging oneself from the perspectives of others one forms a sense of self.…”

Section: Symbolic Interactionism and The Sanctification Of The Black ...mentioning

confidence: 99%

The Sociological Spirituality of W. E. B. Du Bois's Prayers for Dark People

Hughey

2023

Scientific Study of Religion

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Scholarship on W. E. B. Du Bois's understanding of religion is in the midst of a renaissance. Yet, few engage Du Bois's Prayers for Dark People, written over 1909–10 at Atlanta University. As a remedy, I first provide historical context on the production and reception of Prayers. I then delve into the content of Prayers, identifying the tenets of a Du Boisian “sociological spirituality” brought to bear on the study and navigation of “race” and the “color‐line.” Through four strategies, Du Bois blended sociological empiricism and theorization with appeals to spirituality in the form of moral realism, stoicism, hypostasis, and metaphysics: (1) a critical deism that conserves belief in sacred divinity; (2) pedagogical racial uplift strategies that help resolve theodicies; (3) symbolic interactionism that sanctifies the Black self, and; (4) a sociology of knowledge based on otherworldly dimensions. I conclude that Du Bois's Prayers serves as a liturgy for Black liberation. Prayers emphasizes a transgressive rhetoric that exceeds the confines of social theory through a sacralization of sociological knowledge as a prophetic anticipation of moral Black lifeworlds.

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Section: Symbolic Interactionism and The Sanctification Of The Black ...mentioning

confidence: 99%

The Sociological Spirituality of W. E. B. Du Bois's Prayers for Dark People

Hughey

2023

Scientific Study of Religion

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“…There is a significant level of appreciation that Simmel “determined his concept of social formation by analogy to the aesthetic concept of form” (Lichtblau 1991:55). One of the first to stress this aspect of Simmel's sociology was Arthur Salz (1965:236), a former student, who claimed: “[Simmel] conceived of … [sociology] as the study of forms of sociation.…”

Section: Simmel As Aesthetic Social Theoristmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Art of Social Forms and the Social Forms of Art: The Sociology-Aesthetics Nexus in Georg Simmel's Thought

Fuente

2008

Sociological Theory

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This article examines the sociology-aesthetics nexus in Georg Simmel's thought. The article suggests that it is useful to divide Simmel's linking of sociology and aesthetics into three distinct types of propositions: (1) claims regarding the parallels between art and social form (the "art of social forms"); (2) statements regarding principles of sociological ordering in art and aesthetic objects (the "social forms of art"); and (3) analytical propositions where aesthetic and social factors are shown to work in combination. In the latter case, the sociology-aesthetic nexus moves beyond mere analogy. It is argued that in those instances where Simmel shows that aesthetic factors are central to the social bond the linking of aesthetics and sociology is theoretically most insightful.

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“…The relationship between Simmel and Weber is a peculiar one. They were close friends, but the intellectual influences between them are not very clear and have been a topic of considerable scholarly debate (see Abel, 1970: 112-14;Faught, 1985;Léger, 1986;Levine, 1972, Lichtblau, 1991Nedelmann, 1988;Scaff, 1987Scaff, , 1988Turner, 1986: 104-10;C. Turner, 1989).…”

Section: Simmel and Webermentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Once Simmel had clarified his methodology more explicitly, it was influential for Weber's approach but mostly as a negative model (see Frisby, 1987: 425-7;Lichtblau, 1991;Scaff, 1988: 13-17;Turner, 1986: 104-5). In particular, Weber sought to depart from Simmel's methodology in formulating a cognitive rational interpretation of motives, rather than a psychological theory of consciousness.…”

Section: Simmel and Webermentioning

confidence: 99%

The Sociology of the Sociology of Money

Deflem

2003

Journal of Classical Sociology

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I offer a discussion of Simmel’s Philosophy of Money in comparison with the analyses of money in the writings of Marx, Weber and Durkheim. Based on this analysis, I argue that Simmel’s ambiguous status as a classic can be accounted for by some of the characteristics of his approach as well as the historical (non-)reception of his work. Simmel’s relative neglect in sociology for the better part of the century as well as his recent revival with the rise of the new cultural studies and the postmodern paradigm shift hint at an important interdependence between the history and systematics of sociological theory. The theme of money has not managed to be accepted as an undisputed topic of sociological reflection because of its non-independent status in most social theories (apart from Simmel’s) as well as the factual resistance to totalizing accounts (like Simmel’s) in the history of sociology. Recent transformations in social theory, however, indicate that money may, and to some extent already has, become a more autonomous topic of inquiry. In conclusion, I argue that Simmel’s work does lend itself to be taken up in postmodern perspectives and that the sociological study of money can likewise be appropriated by the new cultural studies. However, these new perspectives will have to come to terms with the modernist resistance of Simmel and the other sociological classics’ remaining influence in contemporary sociological theory.

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Causality or Interaction? Simmel, Weber and Interpretive Sociology

Cited by 7 publications

References 13 publications

The Sociological Spirituality of W. E. B. Du Bois's Prayers for Dark People

The Sociological Spirituality of W. E. B. Du Bois's Prayers for Dark People

The Art of Social Forms and the Social Forms of Art: The Sociology-Aesthetics Nexus in Georg Simmel's Thought

The Sociology of the Sociology of Money

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