Volume 28, numéro 2, 2024 Die Eigenlogik kultureller Objekte Sous la direction de Heike Koenig, Annika Schlitte et Tim-Florian Steinbach

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The paper examines the role of objects in Simmel’s cultural theory and discusses the extent to which contemporary inter- and transdisciplinary research, e.g. in Material Culture Studies, can refer to him. In a first step, the current problem context is briefly outlined, within which an increased interest in cultural objects can be observed (1). The next section then identifies various dimensions of a theory of cultural objects in Simmel that are relevant in this context (2), namely the conceptual basis, the distinction between an orienting and a disorienting function of objects in the cultural process and the specific status of art for our relation to objects. Finally, the conclusion discusses the relevance Simmel has and could have for current debates (3).

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In this paper, I want to make it clear that a theory of the objective spirit, as developed between Hegel and Simmel, continues to represent an attractive theoretical proposition. However, it will be necessary to modify this theoretical offer, and this means above all retaining the opaque talk of the “objective spirit” with its idealistic connotations in order to keep the big puzzle questions (relation of subject-object, mind-matter, time-duration-change, etc.) open, while at the same time incorporating newer perspectives from cultural studies as an enrichment of social and materialistic aspects – institutions, practices, media, storage of immaterial information, etc. Simmel has featured prominently and extensively in this paper because, in my view, he saw the need to expand our philosophical thinking into the dimensions of the social, political, economic and technical. His philosophical theory of cultural objects opens up questions about their materiality, mediality and social dimension of use.

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Contemporary cultural studies are focusing increasingly on the intrinsic meaning of material culture. Nevertheless, it often remains unclear wherein exactly the independent meaning of things consists. While traditional sociological explanations tend to understand cultural artifacts as a mere reflection of human meaning, more recent approaches tend to dissolve the material side of objects in linguistic models. Against this background, the article takes up an idea of culture as an interaction between matter and spirit that already emerged in B. Malinowski and attempts to further elaborate this concept of interaction by drawing on considerations by E. Husserl and G. Simmel. Finally and with regard to T. W. AdornoI will argue that things should not be understood as signs of an external meaning, but as social mediation.

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Whereas Simmel researchers have set a high value on his concepts of culture, art and money, Simmel’s relationship with technology still remains unclear. This article explores his usages of the German term “Technik” and conceptualizes them in the light of STS. Moreover, it suggests intersections with recent philosophy of technology, a subdiscipline in which Simmel should be included for good reasons. His understanding of technology ranges from infrastructures to architectures of means/ends, quotidian artifacts, biofacts and scientific instruments (microscope, telescope). On the processual level, it relates to ideas of cultivation, mechanization and resists technocracy. In sum, Simmel interprets technology as formative instance of objective culture that can interact with the soul of the modern subject and its realizations (subjective culture).

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This paper examines Georg Simmel’s philosophy to explore the Alps as “hyperobjects”—vast, interconnected entities shaped by natural and cultural dynamics. By integrating Simmel’s ideas on the autonomy of cultural objects with contemporary concerns of the Anthropocene, the Alps are reinterpreted as orogenetic ruins formed through geological and anthropogenic forces. The study critiques Simmel’s subjectivist view of landscapes, emphasizing their material and temporal independence while highlighting their relevance to ecological and cultural interconnections. This approach repositions Simmel’s insights within a planetary perspective, addressing the entanglements of nature and culture in the context of ecological crises and deep time processes.