Sociology of Ferdinand Tonnies and its position in German social science tradition

The German sociologist Ferdinand Tönnies is one of the founders of sociology not only in Germany but also in the world. Gemeinschaft and Gesellschaft are the two main concepts that are used as the ideal type at the Tönnies' sociology. The importance of Tönnies originates from its grounding in the historical and theoretical context of sociology. In Turkey, about Tönnies, there is no a comprehensive study yet. Another important reason is the desire to uncover the sociological heritage embedded in the concepts of Tönnies. The basis of this heritage is the search for social unity. The trigger of the search for this unity is the meaning crisis Tönnies sees in modernity. The meaning crisis shows itself in the transition from Gemeinschaft to Gesellschaft. This study was carried out with the concern of understanding (verstehen), explaining and interpreting the sociology and concepts of Tönnies and emphasized the historical importance of a classical sociologist. In this study, It is worked German origin text and English translations. In the context of Tönnies's life, a special place has been created for the formation of the identity of sociology. Because the understanding of a sociologist will only be possible by establishing a relationship between his personal life and his history and geography. Traces of Tönnies can be followed in contemporary sociology. In this thesis that were limited with scheme Germany, France, the US and Turkey. The study also included the philosophical background of Tönnies sociology. Hobbes's direct and Rousseau's indirect contribution has been instrumental in developing Tönnies' thought system. In this thesis, two basic concepts of Tönnies, Gemeinschaft and Gesellschaft, were examined in detail. Keywords: Ferdinand Tönnies, Gemeinschaft, Gesellschaft, Pure Sociology, Criticism of Modernity