A dialetic without synthesis

Georg Simmel’s contribution to Historical Sociology

Authors

  • Robson Rocha Souza Jr Professor Assistente da Universidade do Estado de Minas Gerais (UEMG Barbacena) e Doutorando do Programa de Pós-Graduação em Sociologia da Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (PPGS-UFRGS). https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0416-0987

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.36517/rcs.51.3.a01

Keywords:

Historical Sociology, Georg Simmel, Multiplicity of Structures, Historical Flow

Abstract

The objective of the analysis developed in this paper is to presente Simmel’s contribution to Historical Sociology throuhg three articulated efforts. Firstly, it is intended to distinguish its theoretical formulation from the two dominant traditions in Historical Sociology: the marxist tradition and the weberian tradition. Therefore, the first section is dedicated to a rapid presentation of how Marx and Weber conceive the historical course and its relation to social  structures. Afterwards, Simmel’s formulation is presented, highlighting the relation of the historical form with the temporal flow, conceived in the form of a dialectic without synthesis,  and the historical foundation of the social units. Finally, it is indicated how the formulation of Simmel finds parallel in the contribution of two contemporary sociologists: Abbott and  Sewell. At this point, highlighting the concept of turning point, formulated by Abbott and the complex articulation of a multiplicity of open and mutable structures, proposed by Sewell.

Author Biography

Robson Rocha Souza Jr, Professor Assistente da Universidade do Estado de Minas Gerais (UEMG Barbacena) e Doutorando do Programa de Pós-Graduação em Sociologia da Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (PPGS-UFRGS).

Bacharel e Mestre em Ciências Sociais pela Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora (UFJF) e doutorando em Sociologia na Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul.  Entre os anos de 2013 e 2015, foi Professor Substituto do Centro Federal de Educação Tecnológica de Minas Gerais (CEFET-Leopoldina), vinculado ao departamento de Formação Geral; Também foi Professor Designado da Rede Pública de Ensino de Minas Gerais (2016) e desde Agosto de 2018 é Professor Assistente da Universidade do Estado de Minas Gerais, vinculado ao departamento de Ciências Humanas,

References

ABBOTT, Andrew. “On the concept of turning point”. In: ABBOTT, Andrew. Time matters: on theory and method. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2001.

ADAMS, Julia; CLEMENS, Elisabeth S.; ORLOFF, Ann Shola. “Introduction: social theory, modernity, and the three waves of historical sociology”. In: ADAMS, J.; CLEMENS, E. S.; ORLOFF, A. S. (org.) Remaking modernity: politics, history and sociology. Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 2005.

ELIAS, Norbert. A sociedade dos indivíduos. Rio de Janeiro: Jorge Zahar, 1994 [orig. 1987].

KELLY, Duncan. “Karl Marx and historical sociology”. In: DELANTY, Gerard; ISIN, Engin F. (org.) Handbook of Historical Sociology. Londres: Sage, 2003.

HOLTON, Robert. “Max Weber and the interpretative tradition”. In: DELANTY, Gerard; ISIN, Engin F. (org.) Handbook of Historical Sociology. Londres: Sage, 2003.

SIMMEL, Georg. Ensaios sobre teoria da história. Rio de Janeiro: Contraponto, 2011.

_____, Kant und Goethe: die Geschichte den modernen Weltanschauungen. Berlin: Marquardt & Co. Berlin, 1906.

PYYHTINEN, O. Simmel and ‘the Social’. London: Palgrave and Macmilan, 2010

SEWELL, William H. Jr. Logics of history: social theory and social transformation. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2005.

Published

2020-11-01

How to Cite

Souza Jr, R. R. (2020). A dialetic without synthesis: Georg Simmel’s contribution to Historical Sociology. Revista De Ciências Sociais (Social Sciences’ Journal), 51(3), 239–272. https://doi.org/10.36517/rcs.51.3.a01