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 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 a automatically reaction to a specific impuls. Action on the other hand involve awareness by the individual, who purposefully acts in a certain way because of the motives and feelings he or she experiences. Social action is social because an individual attatches a subjective meaning to his behaviour while taking into acount 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 a action. But this inner action can not be seen on the outside (Ernste, Persoonlijke communicatie, 14 september 2012).

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)

2. Affectual action (by emotion, not rational)

3. Value action (by values, norm-based)

4. Goal action (by purpose, highest form of rationality)

These ideal types of rationality are needed in order to understand the actions of other people. 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.

Involved thinkers

Talcott Parsons Emile Drukheim Alfred Schutz

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.

Contributors

Published by Inge Schoenmakers & Lotte Brouwer.

Enhanced by Judith Nijenhuis (s3009270)

Enhanced by User:BoudewijnIdema, 17 October 2011, 20:57 (UTC)

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