Weber's theory of man
From Geography
The sociologist Max Weber (1864) thought of the theory of man. Weber was trying to find a model to understand the complexity and variety of social action. He did this to develope 'ideal types'. Ideal types have the character that they are genetic, represent an individual or historical concept, are timeless and spaceless. Weber's ideal types were bounded to a particular time, place and context. The ideal types are not descriptions and several types of different natures could be apply to the same phenomena. The kind of ideal type depends on the reason why the penomena is been studied (Johnston, Gregory, Pratt, Watts, 2000).
The theory of man emerge the best in 'the four types of human action'. These four types explanes the actions of human beings. Max Weber uses the idea of ideal types. It is described as follows by Max Weber:
- Goal rational type (Goal rational action). Decide what the most effective and efficient means are to reach a entirely clear and specific (end)goal. This is a utilitarian frame of mind. The circumstances of the actions taken and the expected or possible side-effect have to be taken into account. This ideal type is local, economical and scientific. The assumption is not that this type acts totally rational, the actual behaviour can deviate a lot from the rational model. Although not 100% rational, fairly solid predictions can be made about the actions an actor is going to undertake, when he or she is acting in a goal-rational way.
- Value rational type (Value rational action). This ideal type values the goal of his actions. Also the actions of the actor are determined by pursuing values instead of calculation. This means that both the means and the end are dependent on the values one considers.
- Affective or emotional action type (Affective action). The behaviour or actions of this ideal type is driven by the feelings of the actor. This type is direct influenced by emotions and is definitely not by rationality. Therefore this ideal type is also called non-rational. Examples one could think of are actions commited in a state of e.g. rage, despair or joy.
- Traditionalist type (Traditional action). The actions of this ideal type is under the prevailing authority. Behaviour arises out of established practices and the respect for authority. 'The behaviour may not be considered sufficiently conscious to count as intended and hence as genuine action'. (Campbell, 1981)
A combination of these four types of action can composite a more or less complete picture of the the values and beliefs of an individual. Out of these values and beliefs, the behaviour of that individual can be distilled and predicted (Campbell, 1981).
References:
Campbell, T., Seven Theories of Human Society, (Claredon Press, Oxford 1981)
Johnston, R.J., Gregory, D., Pratt, G. Watts, M., The dictionary of Human Geography, ( Blackwell Publishing, Oxford 4th edition 2000)
Published by Meryl Burger (s0801704)
Edited by Frank Simons
Edited by TeunVanDeVen 13:31, 11 October 2012 (CEST)
