Acquaintance reveals only the other’s outward-facing self, not their essence

Evidence

Under the rubric of acquaintance, one knows of the other only what he is toward the outside, either in the purely social-representative sjense, or in the sense of that which he shows us. The degree of knowledge covered by “being well acquainted with one another,” refers not to the other per se; not to what is essential in him, intrinsically, but only to what is significant for that aspect of him which is turned toward others and the world. — Georg Simmel, The Sociology of Georg Simmel, 7794

Categorization

• DEFINE: Simmel’s precise distinction between acquaintance (knowledge of the ‘that’ of personality) and intimate knowledge (the ‘what’).
• XREF: connects to: The Other’s essential character is objectivity, not embodied life.; The Other’s inner experiences are constitutively inaccessible to my perception yet organize my field; The Other’s contingent accessories define him without functioning as signs of inner subjectivity (+6 more)