Messages from Georg Simmel /

Using a large number of direct quotations from Georg Simmel's works, Helle (Ludwig-Maximilians Univ., Munchen) argues that Simmel's philosophical sociology comprises a message for the modern world. He divides Simmel's message into four topics: the nature of interpretation, the evolution of society over time, the construction of social reality through interaction, and the positive and negative roles of money and socialism. He concludes with an examination of the intellectual influences on Simmel of Max Weber and Karl Marx, as well as his differences from them. Simmel, writes Helle, viewed the emotions and drives of individuals, or souls, as the contents of social reality. Individuals interact with one another through forms that organize the content, and it is this interaction and the cognition of it from which society is constructed. Interpretation, then, results from the construction of meaning by interacting individuals. Social interactions, types of which include religion and political orientations such as socialism, evolve, as does interpretation (understanding), due to competition among the participants. Alienation occurs when individuals view the values that arise from their interaction with others, for example, the value of money, as something objectively independent from them. Summing Up: Recommended. Graduate students, faculty. C. T. Loader University of Nevada, Las Vegas