Society is a concrete generality neither reducible to individuals nor abstract

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

Categorization

• DEFINE: Defines Simmel’s concept of society as supra-singular yet concrete — a conceptual anchor for how urban interaction creates real structure.
• XREF: Underpins the theoretical synthesis in the essay: urban life (Lofland’s stranger categorization, Simmel’s blasé attitude) is society as concrete interaction, not abstraction. — connects to: Every person is perceived as both unique individual and general type — Georg Simmel, on individuality and social forms_…, 174; Individual and society are methodological standpoints, not separable entities — Georg Simmel, on individuality and social forms_…, 213; Humanity functions as an organizing idea, not a concrete entity — Georg Simmel, on individuality and social forms_…, 215 (+14 more)

Related

• Human essence is the ensemble of social relations, not an individual abstraction (similarity 0.88)
• Individual and society are methodological standpoints, not separable entities (similarity 0.85)
• Society names both actual human networks and the abstract forms of sociality (similarity 0.85)
• Numbers name the intermediate agent between individual and society that neither alone can enact (similarity 0.85)
• Humanity functions as an organizing idea, not a concrete entity (similarity 0.84)
• Biology and abstract reason never united humans; concrete thought did (similarity 0.84)
• A science of society must study only forms of interaction (similarity 0.83)
• A set of individuals can be society to varying degrees. (similarity 0.82)
• Society’s development cannot be explained by physical laws of quantity. (similarity 0.82)
• Social generalization, though distorting, is what makes social relations possible (similarity 0.81)
• Real society is a system that is abstract and non-organic in unification. (similarity 0.81)
• Human sociality is one possibility among several, not the only lens on experience (similarity 0.80)
• Humanity’s viewpoint and society’s viewpoint remain in principle distinct (similarity 0.80)
• Simmel advanced technical sociology mainly as a byproduct of metaphysical concerns (similarity 0.80)
• There is no single legitimate abstract sociology but several coexisting kinds. (similarity 0.80)

Broader Connections

• Full autonomy of social levels cannot capture a social formation’s complex unity #corroborates (0.85)
• Marxism conceives society as overdetermined relatively autonomous levels, not a simple unity #expands (0.80)