Georg Simmel's contributions to the theory of social differentiation: a multidimensional approach

The aim of this article is to show the various levels of meaning of Georg Simmel acute accent s Differentiation Theory, discussing how it was interpreted in sociology. Focusing on his early Social Theory, I sustain that Simmel offers an approach to the issues of the division of labour and the social integration alternative of that of Emile Durkheim. Thus, I argue that the German thinker acute accent s proposal is not multidimensional just because it conceives differentiation in parallel to the "equalization", but also to the extent that it deals with the constitution of individuality alongside that of the modern groups, the point at which he anticipates some aspects of Niklas Luhmann acute accent s Differentiation Theory. In this frame I display the other dimensions that Simmel outlines to unravel the modern process of differentiation, that is, the contrast between "subjective" and "objective", "qualitative" and "quantitative", "synchronic" and "diachronic differentiation".