Therewith these conditions gain a unique place, pregnant with inestimable meanings for the development of psychic existence. While Simmel is concerned with the possible negative effects of objective culture, he considers it possible for personalities to develop within these conditions. Individual and Society . Simmel was troubled by this relationship, viewing modern society as freeing the individual from historical and traditional bonds and creating much greater individual freedom, but with individuals also experiencing a great sense of alienation within the culture of urban life. Simmel makes three assumptions about the individual and society.
Individuals are both objects and subjects within networks of communicative interaction.
In the social world, the various forms and styles of interaction are brought into existence by people and the above assumptions are realized as individuals interact with one another. People are conscious and creative individuals and the mind plays a crucial role in this mutual orientation and social interaction. This creativity allows for flexibility and freedom on the part of the individual, but at the same time it helps to create the structures of objective culture that may constrain and stifle this freedom. That is, social interaction becomes regularized and has patterns to it, and these become forms of association. These patterns and forms, regardless of their content, is what sociologists should study.