For Simmel, form is the basic concept that underlies the epistemological process. But he casts form in his sociological and philosophical writings as a function of a relation. Form, for Simmel, is a dynamic principle that can change depending on its function. This makes relation equal with form's conventionally assigned privileged epistemological status. Reciprocity, according to Simmel, opens form, customarily considered self-enclosed, to elicit form's dynamics as a part of a process that is able to reflect the difference it contains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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