In this essay, Simmel introduced the notion of “the stranger” as a unique sociological category. Most notably, Simmel suggests that because of their peculiar positions in the group, strangers often carry out special tasks that the other members of the group are either incapable or unwilling to carry out.
Where did Georg Simmel work?
| Georg Simmel | |
|---|---|
| Era | 19th-century philosophy |
| Region | Western philosophy |
| School | Neo-Kantianism Lebensphilosophie |
| Institutions | University of Berlin University of Strasbourg |
What is true of the stranger as a sociological concept?
Why did Simmel write the stranger?
“The Stranger” is an essay by Georg Simmel, originally written as an excursus to a chapter dealing with the sociology of space in his book Soziologie. The stranger is a member of the group in which he lives and participates and yet remains distant from other – “native” – members of the group.
What is the stranger according to Georg Simmel?
“The stranger’ is but one of the many concepts which contemporary sociologists have received from the fertile mind of Georg Simmel. The sociological form of the stranger’ reveals Simmel’s love of the paradox by emphasizing a mixture of opposites” (McLemore 86).
How does Simmel use paradox in the sociological form of the stranger?
The sociological form of the stranger’ reveals Simmel’s love of the paradox by emphasizing a mixture of opposites” (McLemore 86). “People always have been concerned about the entrance of a new person into the group” (McLemore 87).
What is Simmel’s standard of behavior?
This standard of behavior has to do with the group’s expectations of how newcomer and immigrants (essentially strangers) should assimilate (Heinke 1). Yet, Simmel doesn’t focus primarily on the stranger and his assigned place in the social structure.
What is the principle of the Stranger in sociology?
The principle of the stranger is a powerful theory and concept because it forced the world to look at how groups define other groups and how a group can define one person who is not a member. The stranger has the power to disrupt every thing in a group’s lives.
