Towards a Theory of the Formal Situation: Developing a Minimal Unit of Sociological Analysis

The social sciences lack a foundational minimal unit of analysis that enables different theoretical perspectives to be compared on common ground. This paper addresses this gap by developing the concept of the Formal Situation as a universal descriptive model for social phenomena – drawing on various theoretical approaches, but primarily on Alfred Schütz's theory of the lifeworld.The paper first examines how the concept of the situation is handled across major sociological theories, identifying recurring standpoints and perspectives. From this comparative analysis, a minimal set of dimensions necessary to describe any social situation is derived: space, time, and quantity as universal core dimensions, alongside exchange and impulse as operational principles. Central to the model is the Principle of the Tendency towards Unity – a generalizable motive, applicable to all situations and all living beings, according to which actors strive to preserve and expand their essential units. This principle builds upon Schütz's insight that the finiteness of human life constitutes the most fundamental motive for action, while extending it beyond the domain of human daily and life plans.The situational base model is then related to language – which, following Schütz, represents the most fundamental form of human expression. It is argued that linguistic structures do not arbitrarily mirror reality but emerge as representations of formal situational dimensions, a claim subsequently developed in the analysis of Serial Verb Constructions (Bauer 2026).Finally, the paper discusses how the principle of the formal impulse can provide a generalizable motive for any situation definition – one that functions pre-rationally, applies across theoretical traditions, and offers a basis for comparing sociological frameworks without privileging any single theoretical standpoint.