Call for papers

 

"Georg Simmel between Philosophy and sociological Theory" (2025, n. 2)

(edited by Davide Ruggieri, University of Padova – Italy)

 

Georg Simmel is regarded as one of the most significant intellectuals of the early 20th century. His work spans philosophical, sociological, aesthetic, and cultural fields, marking a fundamental shift in the history of philosophy. He was also a visionary pioneer in the field of sociology and philosophy of culture. Simmel’s inquiries began with a philosophical background, addressing the pressing question of what modernity represents: individualization, differentiation, and reciprocity are the shibboleth of his sociological and cultural theory. The observation of the various transformations within modern society serves as the foundation for constructing social science, particularly through a “sociological gaze” that acts as a reflexive theory of modernity. In this context, Simmel made significant contributions to our understanding of human conduct (or social agency) within modern society. He showed that observing and describing new forms of human behavior can give rise to a new science – sociology - as well as a new theoretical framework for interpreting society - social philosophy. This perspective basically aligns with Antony Giddens’ assertion that sociology embodies the “reflexive consciousness of modernity.”

Jürgen Habermas notably referred to Simmel as a Zeitdiagnostiker (“a philosophical diagnostician of the times with a social-scientific bent”). Simmel approaches his investigations in two ways: first, he uses sociology to explore new forms of interaction within modern society; second, he addresses both ancient and contemporary philosophical challenges to provide a theoretical understanding of the modern era. He engages with both classical and modern philosophers -such as Plato, Aristotle, Leibniz, Spinoza, Kant, Schopenhauer, and Nietzsche - as well as writers from German and foreign literature, including Goethe, Dante, and George. Simmel reinterprets their original contributions to incorporate them functionally into his philosophy and sociology. Additionally, he directly confronts the emerging theoretical trends of his time, including Neokantianism, Pragmatism, Lebensphilosophie, and Phenomenology, fostering reciprocal influences and inspiration among them.

This call for papers aims to examine Simmel’s interpretation of modern philosophy as a fundamental approach to developing a sociological and cultural theory. The interplay between the subjective and objective spheres (that leads him to the concept of the “tragedy of culture,” which was particularly significant among his pupils and for the future development of sociology and philosophy of culture); the question of transcendence and immanence of life in his late writings (which have effects in both his philosophical reflections and sociological theory); the re-examination of morals within the modern society; the (social) function of art and the idea of a “sociological aesthetics”, etc. We warmly invite submissions that focus on topics related to sociology, the history of philosophy, the philosophy of culture, and social philosophy. We are particularly interested in those that explore the central concept of Wechselwirkung (“reciprocal action”), which Simmel regarded as a “metaphysical principle” in his 1898 Selbstdarstellung: submissions should aim to use this concept as a foundational principle for understanding modernity as a relational issue between philosophy and sociology.

Deadline: 15 September 2025

Please submit your papers following the guidelines for the Simmel Studies review (https://simmelstudies.org/index.php/simmel_studies/about/submissions)  to the following email address: davide.ruggieri@unipd.it

Notifications of acceptance for the selected papers will be sent by the end of November 2025.