The stranger embodies a simultaneous union of closeness and remoteness

Evidence

In the case of the stranger, the union of closeness and remoteness involved in every human relationship is patterned in a way that may be succinctly formulated as follows: the distance within this relation indicates that one who is close by is remote, but his strangeness indicates that one who is remote is near. — Georg Simmel, on individuality and social forms_…, 388

Categorization

• DEFINE: The nearness/remoteness synthesis—the stranger’s defining paradox.
• XREF: This paradox maps onto Lofland’s civil inattention and Julius’s alienated urban observation. — connects to: The stranger fuses detachment with attachment, coming today but staying tomorrow — Georg Simmel, on individuality and social forms_…, 387; Shared universal traits make the stranger simultaneously near and far — Georg Simmel, on individuality and social forms_…, 397; A stranger is someone personally unknown yet visually available (+11 more)

Related

• A stranger is someone personally unknown yet visually available (similarity 0.92)
• Shared universal traits make the stranger simultaneously near and far (similarity 0.91)
• The most urban-inept strangers can be the most warmly treated (similarity 0.90)
• Strangeness is a specific proportion of nearness and distance (similarity 0.90)
• In the stranger, distance means the near one is far and vice versa. (similarity 0.89)
• Seeing a handicap makes some strangers feel licensed to intrude (similarity 0.87)
• The stranger is not a transient wanderer but a settled potential wanderer (similarity 0.86)
• The stranger fuses detachment with attachment, coming today but staying tomorrow (similarity 0.84)
• Strangers are perceived by type rather than as individuals (similarity 0.81)
• The stranger is simultaneously outside and inside the group’s structure (similarity 0.81)
• Widely shared similarities cool connections into a sense of contingency (similarity 0.80)
• Stranger relations rest on general commonality, not specific differences (similarity 0.80)
• Some strangeness denies the stranger even general human commonality, making the relation a non-relation (similarity 0.80)
• Intimacy arises when a relation’s unique shared ingredients feel essential (similarity 0.79)
• Living surrounded by strangers is a peculiar condition requiring explanation (similarity 0.79)

Broader Connections

• Strangeness is a specific proportion of nearness and distance #corroborates (0.85) — Georg Simmel, on individuality and social forms_…, 403
• Shared universal traits make the stranger simultaneously near and far #corroborates (0.75) — Georg Simmel, on individuality and social forms_…, 397
• A stranger is someone personally unknown yet visually available #expands (0.60)