Abstract

The unsystematic nature of the American Simmel reception is the general subject of this dissertation. A case study of four functionalist sociologists--Talcott Parsons, Kaspar Naegele, Lewis Coser, and Robert Merton--in the years 1937-1961 is undertaken. The investigation reveals that three factors were largely responsible for the erratic reception of Simmel's ideas in functionalist sociology in the time period studied. First, the phase of paradigmatic development at the time Simmel's work was explored shaped the reception of Simmelian ideas. Following the suggestions of T. S. Kuhn, it is argued that paradigmatic phases have implications for the problems on which the practitioners work. For example, later phases of a paradigm are more likely to be shaped by internal demands of the framework than are earlier phases, which are more likely to be conditioned by social needs and values, common sense, and more prestigious disciplines. Considered in this light, the functionalist Simmel reception was a consequence of the combination of internal and external problems each of the principals was pursuing. This particular constellation of problems was, in turn, a function of the phase of functionalism the principal was working within. The second factor which shaped the reception was the politics of the discipline of sociology and the use made of Simmel's ideas in the clash of rival factions. Last, the values and experiences of each principal shaped the problems studied and, therewith, the selective features of Simmel's work found relevant to these problems. An examination of the relative influence of each factor--paradigm, politics, and the principal--in the Simmel reception of each of the four functionalists studied forms the main contribution of this dissertation