Simmel’s Reading For this week’s reading, I am assigned to chapter 22 and 24.In chapter 22, Simmel talked about relations and the form of inner needs; that relation is a constantly developing life-process, and inner needs are life itself. In chapter 24, as the title suggested, he talked about the conflict in modern culture. A lot of the time I did not know how to react to his writing. In chapter 22, he mentioned that these forms (inner life, relation etc.) are life itself. What does that mean? That our life is the exact form of social relations that we have? And since the forms “do not express or shape an ideal, a contrast with life’s reality,”(p. 352) there should not have been any conflict within one’s identity, one’s inner thoughts, and …show more content…
In page 376, he argued that as soon as one cultural form is “fully developed,”(p. 376) a new one will form and eventually replace its predecessor. Structural functionalists would disagree with this statement at the ‘new replace old’. Durkheim would argue that the form will change, but the main framework and purpose will remain the same. He then moved on to cultural changes. Starting with economic change, he noticed the differences in forms of production. The economy obstructs the norm and boundaries then, which only through explosive revolutions can it be changed. He continues by explaining that the current conflict we face is the struggle against the “principle of form.” (p. 377) He noticed a lack of form in the current society but I’m not fully convinced. Because, using his own words, old forms can only be replaced once the new forms are fully developed. It is not disruptive, but rather a transition from one to another, formlessness should not have exists. He sometimes can be vague about his concepts, for example, “(metaphysics) its goal is the search of truth; yet something (unrecognizable) more is often expressed through it.” (p. 383) What is that unrecognizable concept that he mentioned here, is there any example that can support it? I do agree with the concluding statement of conflicts and problems exists in their own right, but my reasoning is that a society is a unity that requires conflicts and problems to