Max Weber

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Max Weber, [1]

Max Weber (1864 – 1920) was a German jurist, historian, political economist and best known as one of the leading scholars and founders of modern sociology. At the age of eighteen (1882) he enrolled in the University of Heidelberg as a law student. In 1884 Weber moved to Berlin where he also followed courses in economics and medieval history. In Berlin he earned his law doctorate in 1889 by writing a doctoral dissertation on legal history. Two years later he completed his 'Habilitationsschrift' and became qualified as German professor with a study on the agricultural history of Rome (Radkau, 2009). In his career Max Weber dealt with a wide range of subjects, both theoretical and methodological. This made him a role model for many other social scientists. Max weber was also strongly influenced by german Idealism in this period.

Max Weber defined sociology as a science that wants to understand and causally explain social action (Campbell, 1981). Sociology should be a value-free science according to Weber. Researchers should not apply their own opinions to the facts they observe, because their opinion is in no way deduced from the fact they observe. Weber admits it is hard to be value-free in sociology, for three reasons (Campbell, 1981, p. 171-172):

1. Values are among the objects of study

2. The researcher uses his values to select which facts should be studied

3. If you want to explain social behaviour, you have to understand it, and to understand it you need to empathize with people.

Yet Weber is positive about the chances of a good researcher to overcome these problems.

According to Weber there is a difference between action and behaviour. Behaviour is a purely mechanical bodily movement, it is without intentions and has no special meaning to the individual. For instance it is an automatic reaction to a specific impuls. Action on the other hand involves awareness of the individual, who purposefully acts in a certain way because of the motives and feelings he or she experiences.

Max Weber and the action theory

Max Weber was one of the key thinkers of the instrumental rationalist action theory. This contains the analysis of social action in order to gain access to social reality. According to the action theory human beings are intentional and they have reasons for their actions, they are goal oriented. Their actions are goal rational. Max Weber defined four ideal types of rationality; choosing the means which you believe that are the best.

1. Traditional action (by tradition, no reason) Action one conducts because one has always done so, or because this is the typical way 'it is done in this place'.

2. Affectual action (by emotion, not rational) Action which is undertaken because one 'feels' the emotional urge to act, in a non-rational way of acting.

3. Value action (by values, norm-based) The activity is valued by itself.

4. Goal action (by purpose, highest form of rationality) An action which choses the best means to reach certain goals.

These ideal types of rationality are needed in order to understand the actions of other people, so they are more than sociologists tools. Using his ideal types of action, Weber can construct a composite picture of individual persons according to the combination of types of action which characterize their behaviour and the particular beliefs and values which they possess (Campbell, 1981, p 187). This understanding is called verstehen and contents the understanding of human behavior by empathize or interpret their meaning (Swedberg, 2005). Max Weber’s verstehen emphasizes the importance he ascribed to the concept of meaningful individual action in his theory of society (Campbell, 1981). This means he finds that only individuals can act and groups (e.g. states) can not. According to Max Weber the biggest part of social action are the unintended consequences of intentional action. Max Weber also tries to discover patterns in individual action, goals, sense and intentions. But he does not believe in any universal set of values which human beings are bound to adopt. Man must, to an extent, choose his values and decide for himself how rational, emotional or traditional his actions are going to be (Campbell, 1981, p 187). In the 19th and 20th century Max Weber discovered a growth of, the above mentioned, goal rational action. He categorised this action into six formal rationalities:

• Computability
• Efficiency
• Predictability
• Non-human technology
• Uncertainty control
• Irrational consequences for involved persons

This pattern of growing rationalisation was used for different subjects by Max Weber, sucha as the economy, politics, art and religion. Mainly politics was hereby investigated, with conclusions of a growing rationality and a decline of traditional values and charisma.

To conclude his research on politics Max Weber has finalised its research with viewing bureaucracy in general. The ideal type of bureaucracy is that of a honest way of governance and a efficent and businesslike one. Max Weber discovered also some negative points: a non-personal working machine which disables personal freedom. The rationalisation is hereby strongly criticised.

Social action & social relationships

Social action is social because an individual attaches a subjective meaning to his behaviour while taking into account the behaviour of others (formal social behaviour). So social action requires at least one person to give meaning to his behaviour, in terms of the subjective experiences of other people (intention, motives, feelings) (Campbell, 1981, p. 173). Action doesn't have to be something physical. For instance a person can decide to not do a specific action. Taking the decision not to do is also an action. But this inner action can not be seen on the outside (Ernste, Persoonlijke communicatie, 14 september 2012).

A Social Relationship is the behaviour of a plurality of actors with a meaningfull content. There are different kinds of social relationships:

• A Conflictual relationship is intentionally carrying out the actors own will against the resistance of the other party(s)

• A Communal relationship is based on the subjective feeling of parties, on the basis of traditional or affectual actions, that they belong together.

• And the associative relationship which is a rational relation held together by an agreement or coordinated interests.

There are combinations of these relationships possible. Which relationship has authority over the other, can be found in the ideal types of legitimite order of Weber: there is traditional authority, charismatic authority and rational/legal authority (Campbell, 1981)

Involved thinkers

Talcott Parsons

Émile Durkheim

Alfred Schütz

References

Campbell, T. (1981). Seven Theories of Human Society. Oxford: Clarendon Press.

Radkau, J. (2009). Max Weber: A Biography. Cambridge: Polity Press.

Swedberg, R. (2005). The Max Weber Dictionary. Standford: Standford University Press.

Kivisto Peter, Key Ideas in Sociology (2004)

George Ritzer, Classical sociological theory (McGraw-Hill,1992)

Contributors

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