Human essence is the ensemble of social relations, not an individual abstraction

Evidence

Herewith is expressed the profound relation between relativity and society, which is the most immediate demonstration of relativity in regard to the material of humanity: society is the supra-singular structure which is nonetheless not abstract. Through this concept historical life is spared the alternatives of having to run either in mere individuals or in abstract generalities. Society is the generality that has, simultaneously, concrete vitality. — Georg Simmel, on individuality and social forms_…, 274 (#corroborates, via linked claim)

Yet from the sociological viewpoint, we are interested only in such questions as: How do the various phases of super-ordination and subordination follow one another? To what extent is superordination in a given relation compatible with co-ordination in other relations? How much superordination is required in the initial phase of the relation to destroy co-ordination completely? — Georg Simmel, on individuality and social forms_…, 208 (#contradicts, via linked claim)

This does not mean, of course, that each member of a society is conscious of such an abstract notion of unity. It means that he is absorbed in innumerable, specific relations and in the feeling and the knowledge of determining others and of being determined by them. — Georg Simmel, on individuality and social forms_…, 169 (#corroborates, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Human nature is the ever-changing complex of social relations, not a fixed essence; Objects are studied as social relations, not physical things; Intellectuals are defined by social relations, not intrinsic activity. (+5 more)

Related

• Society is a concrete generality neither reducible to individuals nor abstract (similarity 0.88)
• Biology and abstract reason never united humans; concrete thought did (similarity 0.87)
• Social unity is felt through concrete relations rather than abstract awareness (similarity 0.86)
• Social relations can be analyzed purely as formal configurations (similarity 0.86)
• Humanity functions as an organizing idea, not a concrete entity (similarity 0.84)
• Numbers name the intermediate agent between individual and society that neither alone can enact (similarity 0.84)
• Society names both actual human networks and the abstract forms of sociality (similarity 0.83)
• Human sociality is one possibility among several, not the only lens on experience (similarity 0.83)
• Society’s unity is self-produced by its members, unlike nature’s observer-made unity (similarity 0.83)
• Social mechanisms intensify only when applied reflexively to themselves (similarity 0.83)
• The individual’s inner mental relations mirror social relations among persons (similarity 0.83)
• Humanity’s viewpoint and society’s viewpoint remain in principle distinct (similarity 0.83)
• Any social group can act as individual or aggregate depending on its relational frame. (similarity 0.82)
• Humans are constituted by their social relations rather than an intrinsic essence (similarity 0.82)
• Marx conceived social unity as constructed out of difference, not identity (similarity 0.82)

Broader Connections

• Society is a concrete generality neither reducible to individuals nor abstract #corroborates (0.93) — Georg Simmel, on individuality and social forms_…, 274
• Social relations can be analyzed purely as formal configurations #contradicts (0.85) — Georg Simmel, on individuality and social forms_…, 208
• Social unity is felt through concrete relations rather than abstract awareness #corroborates (0.80) — Georg Simmel, on individuality and social forms_…, 169