Details

Autor(en) / Beteiligte

• Podoksik, Efraim

Titel

Georg Simmel: Three Forms of Individualism and Historical Understanding

Ist Teil von

• New German critique, 2010, Vol.37 (1), p.119-145

Ort / Verlag

New York: Duke University Press

Erscheinungsjahr

2010

Quelle

Duke University Press journals

Beschreibungen/Notizen

• It is a common perception that the distinction between quantitative and qualitative individualism constitutes the basis of Georg Simmel's theory of individualism. Yet, by analyzing Simmel's writings on individualism and juxtaposing them with his theory of historical understanding, this article argues that Simmel formulated three, not two, forms of individualism, although the third one appears only in his later writings. This third variant is a certain radicalization of qualitative individualism, though it is a radicalization that transcends separate individuality and moves toward the notion of totality. This article is part of my research on Georg Simmel's philosophy supported by the Israeli Science Foundation (grant no. 220/05).