Form and Dialectic in Georg Simmel's Sociology: A New Interpretation

PART I: SIMMEL'S METHOD AND THE HISTORICAL CONTEXT OF HIS WORK 1. Interaction, Form and the Dialectical Approach - Simmel's Analytical Conceptual Framework 2. The Historical Context of Simmel's Sociology PART II: EXEMPLIFICATIONS 3. Fashion as a Social Form 4. The Poor Man 5. The Secret and Secret Societies PART III: FURTHER ASPECTS OF SIMMEL'S METHOD 6. Absolute and Relative - the Operation of a Single Polarity 7. The Philosophy of the 'As If' - the Role of 'Fictions' in Science and Social Life 8. Echoes of Darwin - Simmel's Evolutionism PART IV: THE CONTEMPORARY SIMMEL 9. The Overall Terrain and Contemporary Relevance of Simmel's Oeuvre