Georg Simmel

Sociology German 1858 – 1918 101 quotes

Pioneered the study of social forms and interactions, exploring the dynamics of modernity, money, and urban life.

Quotes by Georg Simmel

The individual becomes a mere function of the whole.

Sociology 1908

Eroticism is a form of sociation that is both intimate and distant.

On Women, Sexuality, and Love 1923

The secret creates a world within a world.

The Sociology of Secrecy and of Secret Societies 1906

Adventure is the distance from everyday life.

The Philosophy of Adventure 1911

The poor are not only those who lack money, but those who are excluded from the social circle.

The Sociology of the Poor 1908

Art is the objectification of a feeling.

The Philosophy of Art 1896

In the money economy, everything becomes calculable.

The Philosophy of Money 1900

The division of labor creates new forms of sociation.

Sociology 1908

The flirtation is a game of give and take without commitment.

The Philosophy of Flirtation 1923

History is the method by which we understand the present.

The Problem of History 1892

The intellectual is one who sees the universal in the particular.

The View of Life 1917

Society exists only in the interaction of individuals.

Sociology 1908

The value of things arises from their distance from us.

The Philosophy of Money 1900

Loneliness in the city is a form of freedom.

The Metropolis and Mental Life 1903

The handle of the door is the threshold between the inside and the outside.

Bridge and Door 1909

Religion is the belief in an invisible society.

The Sociology of Religion 1906

The conflict between the sexes is the source of social energy.

On Women 1923

To be modern is to be restless.

The Conflict in Modern Culture 1911

The essay is the form of the modern spirit.

The Essay as Form 1917

Money transforms the qualitative into the quantitative.

The Philosophy of Money 1900