Is Georg Simmel a Functionalist?

Simmel's second approach in considering the process of group expansion and social development would today be called functionalist. It derives from the influence of Spencerian evolutionism, which marked Simmel's view on social differentiation as put forth in his first sociological publication (1890).

What kind of theorist was Simmel?

Georg Simmel was an early German sociologist and structural theorist who focused on urban life and the form of the metropolis. He was known for creating social theories that fostered an approach to the study of society that broke with the then-accepted scientific methodology used to examine the natural world.

What did Simmel believe?

Simmel considered society to be an association of free individuals, and said that it could not be studied in the same way as the physical world, i.e. sociology is more than the discovery of natural laws that govern human interaction.