Ferdinand Tönnies
Ferdinand Tönnies (July 26, 1855 – April 9, 1936) was a German sociologist. He was a major contributor to sociological theory and field studies, and a co-founder of the German Society of Sociology. He is best known for his distinction between two types of social groups: Gemeinschaft and Gesellschaft.
Life
Ferdinand Tönnies was born into a wealthy farmer's family near Oldenswort, in the North Frisian peninsula of Eiderstedt, then under Danish rule. He was one of seven children. After completing his high school education in Husum, Tönnies continued to study at several universities: the University of Jena, University of Bonn, University of Leipzig, University of Berlin, and University of Tübingen.
The time in which he was living greatly influenced the development of Tönnies' worldview. He was a witness to drastic changes in social structure, as the Industrial Revolution was quickly transforming society. Tönnies, on one side saw the progress that industrialization was bringing, but on the other he remained pessimist because he saw the decline in traditional morality as person-to-person alienation mounted. His works reflect this pesimistic view of modern society.
Tönnies received his doctorate in Tübingen in 1877, in classical philology, with a Latin thesis on the ancient Siwa Oasis. Four years later he became a private lecturer at the University of Kiel, teaching philosophy, economics, statistics, and sociology. Because he had sympathized with the Hamburg dockers' strike of 1896, the Prussian government considered him to be a social-democrat, and Tönnies was not called to a professorship until 1913. He held his post at the University of Kiel for only three years.
From 1909 to 1933 he was president of the German Sociological Society, which he co-founded together with Georg Simmel, Werner Sombart, and Max Weber. He returned to the university as a professor emeritus in 1921, and taught there until 1933 when he was ousted by the Nazis, due to his earlier publications criticizing them. He died in Kiel three years later, in 1936.
Work
Tönnies remains famous for his conception of Gemeinschaft and Gesellschaft, which in general, refers to two types of social groupings. Gemeinschaft—often translated as Community—refers to groupings based on a feeling of togetherness. Gesellschaft—often translated as Society—on the other hand, refers to groups that are sustained by an instrumental goal. Gemeinschaft may by exemplified by a family or a neighborhood community; Gesellschaft by a joint-stock company or a state or nation.
This distinction between social groupings is based on the assumption that there are only two basic forms of will: "Essential Will" and "Arbitrary Will." The "Essential will" ("Wesenwille"), leads the actor to see himself as a means to serve the goals of a social grouping. Very often this will is an underlying, subconscious force that motivates people to volunteer their time and to serve others. Groupings formed around an essential will are called Gemeinschaft.
The other will is the "arbitrary will" ("Kürwille"). An actor here sees the social group as a means to further his individual goals, and so it is purposive and future-oriented. Groupings around the latter are called Gesellschaft. Whereas the membership in a Gemeinschaft is self-fulfilling, a Gesellschaft is instrumental for its members. In pure sociology, i.e theoretically, these two types of will are to be strictly separated; in applied sociology, i.e. empirically, they are always mixed.
Tönnies was ultimatelly interested in social change. Through the concept of Gemeinschaft and Gesellschaft he explained the evolution of society from ancient to modern. He saw ancient society as predominantly rooted in the essential will, where families, tribes, and villages functioned around common heritage. People predominantly used essential will, for the benefit of the whole group. In more developed societies, however, the relationships between people are based on arbitrary will, with the social structures formed around common interests. People in such societies predominantly use arbitrary will based on their own interest, choosing between different means to fulfill certain individual needs. Tönnies, however, did not see modern society as exclusively based in arbitrary will, but as a mix of the two. According to him, every social organization is a synthesis of the two wills.
Legacy
Tönnies published over 900 works and contributed to many areas of sociology and philosophy. Many of his writings on sociological theories, including his masterpiece Gemeinschaft und Gesellschaft furthered pure sociology. He coined the term Voluntarism. Tönnies also contributed to the study of social change, particularly on public opinion, customs and technology, crime, and suicide. He also had a vivid interest in methodology, especially statistics, and sociological research, inventing his own technique of statistical association. The Ferdinand Tönnies Society (Ferdinand-Tönnies-Gesellschaft) was founded 1956 in Kiel, with the vision to further sociological research in honor to Ferdinand Tönnies, who is considered one of the founders of German sociology.
Bibliography
- Tönnies, F. (1887, 1912, 1957, 1988). Gemeinschaft und Gesellschaft (Community and Society). Michigan State University Press. ISBN 0887387500.
- Tönnies, F. (1910). Thomas Hobbes, der Mann und der Denker.
- Tönnies, F. (1922/2000). Kritik der Öffentlichen Meinung (On Public Opinion). Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. ISBN 074250168X
- Tönnies, F. (1923/2000). Soziologische Studien und Kritiken. In Ferdinand Tonnies Gesamtausgabe: Bd 15: 1923-1925. Innere Kolonisation in Preuben, Soziologische Studien Und Kritiken. Walter De Gruyter Inc. ISBN 3110158477
- Tönnies, F. (1931). Einführung in die Soziologie
- Tönnies, F. (1935). Geist der Neuzeit.
- Tönnies, F. (1998). Ferdinand Tönnies Gesamtausgabe (Tönnies' Complete Workes), 24 vols. (Lars Clausen, Alexander Deichsel, Cornelius Bickel, Rolf Fechner, and Carsten Schlüter-Knauer, Eds.). Berlin/New York: Walter de Gruyter Inc. ISBN 311015854X
ReferencesISBN links support NWE through referral fees
- Carstens, Uwe. (2005). Ferdinand Tönnies - Friese und Weltbürger, Norderstedt: Books on Demand. ISBN 3833429666
- Deflem, Mathieu. (2001). Tönnies, Ferdinand (1855-1936). Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Retrieved on June 13, 2006 (http://www.cas.sc.edu/socy/faculty/deflem/zToennies.html).
- Fechner, Rolf (1992). Ferdinand Tönnies - Werkverzeichnis, Berlin/New York: Walter de Gryuter. ISBN 3110135191
External links
- [1] Ferdinand-Tönnies-Gesellschaft (Ferdinand Tönnies Society)
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