Kuliah Simmel 10 Dec

8/12/2019 Kuliah Simmel 10 Dec

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Web of Group-Affiliations

Individual is definedby the groups of whichhe is a member

Family Organizations School Workplace Church

FriendshipsThe web of group affiliationsis an important meansthat people have of definingtheir individual identities.


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Social Geometry Simmel sought to understand the make-up and bond

within social relationships Dyad

A relationship that involves two individuals

Ex. Best friends, lovers, married couples A dyad represents the strongest bond No formal structure within the relationship Each experience by either individual impacts the

other The relationship ceases to exist if either member

departs


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Social Geometry Triad

A social group consisting of three equal members Indirect relationship that can both assist and hinder

reciprocity within the group

The group can survive if one member drops out, thusforming a new dyad The introduction of the third person , can help and

hinder the relationship of other group members

This person can become a mediator , can use thegroup to advance their own selfish agenda, and canuse existing conflict to divide the group and take itover


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Forms Studied patterns that make these events

happen or as he coined it forms Forms can be organizations, relationships,

rules that impact and govern the individuals of

a society In connection with forms he studied contents

Contents are considered to be the drives,

interests, purposes that drive individualbehavior


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Forms of SociationForms of sociation

all of the ways in whichpeople come togetherto interact

Examples:

Conflict domination Superordination and subordination division of labor sociability flirting

cooperation compromise solidarity


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Superordination and Subordination

The most important relationship that can exist is that ofthe leader and the followers This relationship must be reciprocal

Followers must be in a position to follow all rulesset forth by the leader

Certain personal freedoms must always beafforded to followers in order for the leader to be

successful This relationship must be structured as a dyadic

affiliation , if a third member is introduced thestructure is immediately weakened


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Social Types

Simmel created social types whichcharacterized different individuals within asociety

Each type needs to be present in order forsociety to exist Examples of types include: the stranger,

the spendthrift, the mediator, theadventurer, the renegade, and the poor


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Social Types

Social Types The type becomes what he is through hisrelations with others who assign him a particular positionand expect him to behave in specific ways. Hischaracteristics are seen as attributes of the socialstructure (Coser, 1977).

The Adventurer : One who breaks the continuity ofeveryday life

The Renegade : One who disrupts the social group

The (Man) in the Middle : The person who stands half waybetween leader and subordinate within the social group.


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Social Types

The Mediator : The person who may act impartially toresolve disputes or, alternatively, who may manipulatedisputes between other group members for advantage.

The Poor : The person at the bottom of society, defined byhis or her dependence on others welfare andbenevolence.

The Stranger : The person who is present, but always

distant from the group (Simmel?). The Stranger is apermanent member (geographically close), but alwaysretains a critical (psychological, emotional and cultural)distance from the other members.


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The Stranger The stranger is defined by both nearness and

remoteness;

Because the stranger is from somewhere else , thestranger is always set apart in the minds of groupmembers;

At the same time the stranger lives among and within thegroup, hence is near;

Unlike everyone else, the stranger lacks ties to membersof the group that they share with each other;

Example: the European Jews;

the Judges of Italian Cities;


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The Objectivity of the Stranger For a stranger to the country and the city,

what is stressed is again nothingindividual, but alien origin ;

Strangers are not really perceived asindividuals but as strangers of a certaintype (race, religion, occupation);


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The Objectivity of the Stranger

He confronts all of the problems with adistinctly objective attitude;

The stranger are not bound by ties whichcould prejudice his perception, hisunderstanding, and his assessment ofdata.


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Group Expansion

As group size expands . . . Intensity decreases Social differentiation

The specialization of the individual Formal organization increases Stability and exclusivity increase


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Group Expansion

The guilds were once ruled by the spirit ofequality;

Formerly, producer and merchant hadbeen united into one person;

After the sales of products increased, themerchant had to hire workers to producemore products;

The group was differentiated into themerchant and workers/producers;


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Personal and Collective Individuality The narrower the circle to which we

commit ourselves, the less freedom ofindividuality we possess;

If the circle enlarge , there is more room init for the development of our individuality;but as parts of this whole, we have less ofuniqueness; the larger whole is lessindividual as a social group ;


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A Phenomenological Formula

The elements of a distinctive social circle are undifferentiated;

Lack of differentiation among the membersof a differentiated group---the social orderof Quakers;

Congregation and worship---individual incollective matters;

Marriage--- individual matter is sociallyregulated;


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A Phenomenological Formula

The elements of a circle that is notdistinctive are differentiated; The US before the Civil War

The New England/the North---the state asthe combination of townships;

The South---extensive counties as units ofadministration---the state as the whole isthe site of true political significance;


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A Dualistic DriveWe live:

1 . As an individual within a social circle---withtangible separation from its other members;

2. As a member of this circle --- with separationfrom other social circles.


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The Sociological Duality of the Family

1. As a unitary structure --- a collectiveindividual within which each memberdevelop his/her differentiation;

2. As an intermediate structure --- ashelter within which each member is

socialized to encounter other social units;


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The Meaning of Individuality

1. Individuality in the sense of the freedom andthe responsibility for oneself that comes from abroad and fluid social environment;

Freedom and Equality

2. Individuality in the sense of qualitativepersonality --- he/she distinguishes

himself/herself from other people; Romanticism --- a division of labor


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Isolation

Isolation is a relation which is lodgedwithin an individual but which existsbetween him/her and a certain group or

group life in general;

Characteristic of the Dyad:

1. Triviality; 2. Intimacy;


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Kuliah Simmel 10 Dec