Structuralism studies only closed formal systems, not open surface variety.

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 (#expands, via linked claim)

The closed system aims to unite all truths, in their most general concepts, into a structure of higher and lower elements which extend from a basic theme, arranged symmetrically and balanced in all directions. The decisive point is that it sees the proof of its substantive validity in its architectural and aesthetic completion, in the successful closure and solidity of its edifice. This represents the most extreme culmination of the formal principle: perfection of form as the ultimate criterion of truth. This is the view against which life, which is continuously creating and destroying forms, must defend itself. — Georg Simmel, on individuality and social forms_…, 859 (#corroborates, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Structuralism inverts culturalism’s claim by making experience an effect of categories; Form conters uniqueness on matter while pure continuity admits no closed structures. — Georg Simmel, on individuality and social forms_…, 819; Closed systems treat aesthetic completion as the proof of their truth — Georg Simmel, on individuality and social forms_…, 859 (+2 more)

Related

• A science of society must study only forms of interaction (similarity 0.83)
• Form conters uniqueness on matter while pure continuity admits no closed structures. (similarity 0.81)
• Closed systems treat aesthetic completion as the proof of their truth (similarity 0.80)
• Form-versus-life conflict anticipates modern structure-versus-antistructure debates (similarity 0.80)
• Individual motives become social only through forms of mutual interaction (similarity 0.79)
• Simmel advanced technical sociology mainly as a byproduct of metaphysical concerns (similarity 0.79)
• Sociology treats psychological processes only as carriers of social forms (similarity 0.79)
• No mental form shapes all material uniformly regardless of its structure (similarity 0.79)
• The formal content distinction in sociology can only be illustrated, not yet defined (similarity 0.79)
• Society is a concrete generality neither reducible to individuals nor abstract (similarity 0.79)
• Sociology’s proper object is the forms relating two or more individuals (similarity 0.79)
• Sociology studies abstract forms of interaction as geometry studies spatial forms (similarity 0.79)
• Structuralist social analysis mistakes ongoing praxis for fixed synchronic being. (similarity 0.78)

Broader Connections

• A science of society must study only forms of interaction #expands (0.80) — Georg Simmel, on individuality and social forms_…, 196
• Closed systems treat aesthetic completion as the proof of their truth #corroborates (0.78) — Georg Simmel, on individuality and social forms_…, 859
• Structuralism inverts culturalism’s claim by making experience an effect of categories #expands (0.70)