Denkstile und intellektuelle Diversität Karl Mannheims Überlegungen zur Kulturinterpretation

This article utilises a cultural sociological approach to knowledge and style, the foundation of which is associated in particular with Karl Mannheim (1893-1947). The sociologist Mannheim, who was educated in Budapest and Germany and held both German and British citizenship, described the process of intercultural relations in his cultural-sociological thoughts. The sociology of culture encompasses not only discursive thought but also the whole gamut of symbolic expression, including language, art and religion. It is in this sense that Mannheim attempts to trace the criteria and conditions of multipolar cultural formations. In the following, Mannheim's work will be examined and evaluated with respect to its potential for an analysis of culture and style.