Relations, forms, and the representation of the social life: Georg Simmel and the challenge of relational sociology as Lebenssoziologie

The paper aims at analyzing the sociological theory of Georg Simmel under the category of relation: it firstly addresses to a relational interpretation, that is considering the social relation as the first ontological issue for any sociological inquiry. In this regard, Simmel stands as one of the pillars, suggesting to stress relation as interaction (Wechselwirkung) and as association form (Vergesellschaftung). The current international debate on relational sociology recognized in Simmel an essential reference. Recently many sociological theories are arguing for an analysis of social interactions in terms of "social life". Also in this regard Simmel plays a fundamental role, as he views a specific space for social relations and he explicitly argued in his writings for "social life" arising as "forms". This paper puts finally the relational dimension of Simmel's theory in a very strong connection with "forms of social life" issue