SNA All-Star: Ferdinand Tönnies

Ferdinand Tönnies (born 1855, died 1936) was a German sociologist and philosopher. He is considered to be the first German sociologist and was the co-founder of the German Society for Sociology. He taught as a private lecturer at the University of Kiel and was heavily influenced by the work of Thomas Hobbes.

His best known contribution to the field of sociology was his distinction between two types of social groups: 

• Gemeinschaft, (“community”) – groupings of people based on a feeling of togetherness. (e.g. a neighborhood or family)
• Gesellschaft (society) – groups of people sustained by an instrumental goal or aim. (e.g. a state.)

Tönnies argued that every social organization has its own type of collective will, which differs depending on the type of organization. Communities have essential-will (Wesenwille) and societies have arbitrary-will (Kürwille). Essential-will is subconscious and derived from one’s personality. It is used to serve the goals of the organization. Arbitrary-will arises from the desire to achieve a future goal, and the social organization is used by an individual as a means towards an their own goals. These two types of social groupings and ideas of collective will serve as two extremes along a spectrum.

In addition to this famous contribution, Tönnies published over 900 works in the fields of sociology and philosophy, on topics including public opinion, customs, technology, and social contract theory. He was also interested in sociological research methodology and invented his own technique of statistical association.

Notable publications:

1887: Gemeinschaft und Gesellschaft, Leipzig: Fues's Verlag, 2nd ed. 1912, 8th edition, Leipzig: Buske, 1935; his basic and never essentially changed study of social man; translated in 1957 as "Community and Society"

1896: Hobbes. Leben und Lehre, Stuttgart: Frommann, 1896, 3rd edn 1925; a philosophical study that reveals his indebtedness to Hobbes, many of whose writings he has edited

On Sociology: Pure, Applied and Empirical, edited by W.J. Cahnman and R. Heberle, Chicago: University of Chicago Press. (Collection of English translated work)