On Simmel’s relativism and the foundations of a relational approach

Abstract

This text elaborates on the idea that Simmel’s relational approach was born within his sociological works, and later on became crucial for his whole oeuvre, thus becoming his worldview, his cosmovision and metaphysical principle. His relational approach structured his three interrelated programmatic texts for the field of sociology: the essay ‘The Problem of Sociology’ ([1894] GSG5,1992:52-61), Sociology’s first chapter ‘The Problem of Sociology’ ([1908] GSG11,1992:13-62), and Fundamental Questions of Sociology’s first chapter ‘The Area of Sociology’ ([1917] GSG16,1999:62-87). A critical comparison of these three texts will allow us to trace the continuities and changes of Simmel’s relational approach, which had consequences far beyond his sociological thinking.