Simmel, Durkheim and Mauss: failed birth of European sociology

Simmel, Durkheim and Mauss: poor beginning of European sociology

Abstract

Georg Simmel's socio-philosophical approach was inscribed and conceived within a relationship with France, and in particular with Émile Durkheim. To what extent was Mauss aware of Simmel's works, and how did he interpret them? To better understand these questions, we propose to sketch a reconstruction of the relations between the three thinkers. Our approach links the lives of the authors and their conceptions of sociology to a crucial moment in the birth of the discipline: that of its entry into the university, where it seeks to assert itself as a science of man. We will use, for this purpose, biographical elements, correspondence and documents related to the groups of researchers with whom Simmel, Durkheim and Mauss were in contact.