Monday, February 16, 2009
Now you See It, Now it Exist
A central theme behind both Simmel and Mead seems to be the idea of social forms, interaction and social objects and symbols. Simmel explains that social forms are nothing but society's interactions visible to humans. Mead explains that social objects and symbols are nothing but the meaning we give them. So in essence, society is the interaction we have among each other and what that means is that which we want it to mean. So, I ask only one question, is it possible to look for society so much that if we forget to remember what society is on the first place (meaning) it will cease to exist (form)?
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I think we, as individuals, are conformed to be a part of society for the rest of our lives. Simmel makes it clear that our ability to create society and societal structures is our way of being "consciously oriented to one another" (Ritzer, p.164). One way or another we are going to be involved in certain situations that require us to interact with other individuals. Working for an employer who outranks us, being a part of a certain culture or religion or evening attending UTEP come to mind.
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