The Metropolis and the Mental Life of Georg Simmel

Abstract

German sociologist and cultural philosopher Georg Simmel's contribution to Europe's urban history has had an enduring influence, due in no part to the validity of his empirical approach. In his texts, however, Simmel manages to capture quite accurately the feeling of life in modern urban centers—so his readers attest—due to his own experiences as a city dweller. This article asks what kind of experiences he had in the big city, or could have had, particularly in Berlin.