SOC203H1 Lecture Notes - Lecture 10: Montesquieu, Alexis De Tocqueville, Cultural Relativism
Document Summary
George simmel: the metropolis and mental life" (1903: the web of group affiliations" (1908) notice this. The argument that simmel puts forward in the web of group affiliations is a structuralist argument (talked about last week) Simmel provides a structural argument through web of group affiliations traditional society (tight vs. dense social networks) Emphasis on this: because this comes in 1908, the reading for tonight comes from 1903 when we look at thinker"s ideas over time, we think it"ll be complex over time. But the reverse is true in this case. The metropolis is more complex and less obviously structuralist than the web of group affiliations. He makes a universalistic claim (claim that he feels applies to human beings; applies to all human beings) humans are differentiating creatures, they pick up on differences and notices contrasts. They pick up on small changes, changes in routine, and little differences that stand out.
