A science of society must study only forms of interaction

Evidence

It becomes a society only when the vitality of these contents attains the form of reciprocal influence; only when one individual has an effect, immediate or mediate, upon another, is mere spatial aggregation or temporal succession transformed into society. If, therefore, there is to be a science whose subject matter is society and nothing else, it must exclusively investigate these interactions, these kinds and forms of sociation. — Georg Simmel, on individuality and social forms_…, 196

Categorization

• SEED: Could ground an essay framing for how urban sociology (Lofland) studies interaction forms rather than contents.
• XREF: connects to: Sociology relates to social sciences as geometry relates to physics. — Georg Simmel, on individuality and social forms_…, 45; Microscopic everyday interactions are the threads that bind society. — Georg Simmel, on individuality and social forms_…, 47; Simmel advanced technical sociology mainly as a byproduct of metaphysical concerns — Georg Simmel, on individuality and social forms_…, 117 (+7 more)

Related

• Sociology studies abstract forms of interaction as geometry studies spatial forms (similarity 0.92)
• Sociology relates to social sciences as geometry relates to physics. (similarity 0.90)
• Sociology’s proper object is the forms relating two or more individuals (similarity 0.88)
• Simmel advanced technical sociology mainly as a byproduct of metaphysical concerns (similarity 0.87)
• Sociology treats psychological processes only as carriers of social forms (similarity 0.87)
• The formal content distinction in sociology can only be illustrated, not yet defined (similarity 0.86)
• Social relations can be analyzed purely as formal configurations (similarity 0.85)
• Individual motives become social only through forms of mutual interaction (similarity 0.84)
• Any social group can act as individual or aggregate depending on its relational frame. (similarity 0.84)
• Society names both actual human networks and the abstract forms of sociality (similarity 0.84)
• Structuralism studies only closed formal systems, not open surface variety. (similarity 0.83)
• Society is a concrete generality neither reducible to individuals nor abstract (similarity 0.83)
• Human essence is the ensemble of social relations, not an individual abstraction (similarity 0.81)
• Social forms must be abstracted from many historical instances (similarity 0.81)
• Collectivities are networks of interaction, not substantive entities. (similarity 0.81)

Broader Connections

• Social relations can be analyzed purely as formal configurations #corroborates (0.60) — Georg Simmel, on individuality and social forms_…, 208
• Forms of interaction retain identity across varied contents and historical settings #expands (0.60) — Georg Simmel, on individuality and social forms_…, 202
• Sociology studies abstract forms of interaction as geometry studies spatial forms #corroborates (0.50) — Georg Simmel, on individuality and social forms_…, 200
• Sociology treats psychological processes only as carriers of social forms #qualifies (0.40) — Georg Simmel, on individuality and social forms_…, 208