Professional Documents
Culture Documents
- With Metropolis and the Mental Life Simmel is one of the first
academics to examine the conditions of the modern city, he
claims that the city harvests conditions of behaviour which is
unimaginable to those in the country.
"The deepest problems of modern life originates from
the claim of the individual to preserve the
independence and individuality of his existence in the
face of overwhelming social forces, of historical
heritage, of external culture, and of the technique of
life.
- George Simmel-
Simmel shows concern regarding the effects of the impersonality and
control of the modern city on an individual.
Hence, Simmel sees the metropolis as being a place of liberation from the
suffocating mentality of the small community found outside the city. This is
very advantageous as it grants the individual to have more space and
freedom to independently define himself rather than being imposed on by
others.
Furthermore, due to the fact that the city is so impersonal and detached Simmel
even observes that a regression of the culture of the individual occurs to people
who move to the metropolis, during his era. This occurs because individuals give
more effort trying to be unique and original in any way possible.
Ultimately, Simmel states, that due to the mass accumulation of individuals and
objects, in the city, people become numb to their surroundings. Hence in order to
keep grasp of their humanity, in a place that lacks it, their personality magnifies.
Such actions which are necessary in the city would be frowned upon in a small
town, whereas they are unnoticed in the city and thus providing the metropolitans
a freedom unachievable in the country.
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