Sociology as per Simmel Throughout his work, his prime concern was to study and explore specific, permanent forms and patterns of interactions between individuals. Specifically, he emphasise on forms instead contents. In the study of fashion and subjective culture and objective culture, I’m going to explain dialectical approach of George Simmel.
Understanding dialectical approach of George Simmel in fashion and subjective culture and objective culture
First of all, I’m going to explain the study of George Simmel on fashion. And, then, i will explain his views on subjective culture and objective culture.
Explaining dialectical approach of George Simmel On Fashion
His essay on “Fashion” is nothing but he explained his dialectical approach of George Simmel in detail. In society, he perceived how individuals who are in the state of duality. It means that those who are and part of society want to have theirs own identity or distinctness compare to general. Here, I’m going to present ideas of George Simmel on fashion and it’s impacts on society at large.
Describing Dialectical approach of George Simmel
As per him, peaceful or conflict free society is nothing but mere hypothetical claim. Conflict are essential ingredients to bring necessitated changes and ensure long term stability.
Though compare to Marx, his dialectical views are hardly effective in bringing political solution, he has something better to explain the social phenomenon as micro sociologist.
For Simmel, nothing is static right from exchange or relations. Initially, he says that when individual interacts and make patterns, they want to be part of that particular group, but as number grows, they feel that they need distinctness or unique identity from generality. Hence, in search of that they do something different though deviant from majority, and this is the beginning of conflict.
But, sooner, the distinct or uniqueness become general and ultimately die down. Then, as like earlier, another cycle begins to meet the same fate.
George Simmel on fashion and outcomes
The life of fashion is directly correlated with the belief of speciality or distinctiveness from rest of the commons. Simply, it means, fashion will be fashion as long as it is distinct. If it is adopted by large numbers, the individual thinks that by adopting such thing, they will loose theirs individuality.
Surprisingly, earlier, such fashion was the means to guard individuality, but, later, it is the cause to loose it. So, it is the human tendencies to be a part of general and, at the same time, stand against it.
Understanding Subjective Culture And Objective Culture
Though not that much better as that of Marx, George Simmel, micro sociologists, was seriously concerned about the dialectical relationship between subjective culture and objective culture through his essay “The metropolis and mental life”.
Meaning and definition of subjective culture and objective culture
Sociology as per Simmel
Throughout his work, his prime concern was to study and explore specific, permanent forms and patterns of interactions between individuals. Specifically, he emphasise on forms instead contents.
Simply, web of such patterns and forms of interactions he calls society, and what he urge is that the task of sociologists is to study these forms.
Subjective meaning and symbolic interactionism
As a symbolic interactionists, Simmel believes that human creates symbols and assigns subjective meaning to these symbols.
Subjective meaning mean behaving on the basis of what they believe rather than what is objectively true. And, they interact with each other with the meaning assigned to the symbols.
Later, what he want to assert is that after some time, once such interactions and forms and patterns become more and more interconnected with other individuals, eventually, become independent from that they created.
Objective culture explanation
But, once such reality becomes independent of who is created, it takes on life of its own means become self sustaining despite delinked from source.
This level of such structure of interactions is termed as “Objective culture ” that in turn, influences the individual who is created it.
Objective culture, simply, means a type of culture, though created by individuals, but now has objective existence of its own and holds the capacity or ability to influence the individuals and institutions.
Tragedy of culture definition
Initially, people emotionally connected with the symbols and assigned meaning to these symbols. They practiced, and used them. But, over a period of time, the web of interactions slowly drifted apart from what they believe and now, it is objectively what it is.
The metropolis and mental life as per George Simmel
In his famous essay ” The metropolis and mental life” he observed that how modern metropolis are growth engine of objective culture and posing threat for the individual culture. For this, as per his essay, he attributes the predominance of the money economy.
He claimed that the widespread use of money leads to an emphasis on the calculability and rationality in all sphere of life. Exactly, this leads to decline in the emotionality and genuine genuine human relationships.
So, by the means of dialectical relationship, Simmel studied that how objective culture influence the individuals who created it. This is all about the subjective culture and objective culture.
This is all about the dialectical approach of George Simmel and his study on fashion and Subjective culture and objective culture. His contribution to sociology discipline as micro Sociologist or symbolic interactionist is praiseworthy.
Sociological Perspectives explained
Micro Sociologist George Simmel