Max Weber

Group 2
Max Weber: Introduction

 Born April 21, 1864

 In Erfurt in Thuringia, Germany (Suburbs of
Berlin))
 Eldest of seven children in upper middle class
family
 German Political Economist and Sociologist
 One of the founders of modern Sociology
 Began his interest in Social Sciences when he
was
as 13
 Brother Alfred became a Sociologist and
Economist
 Helped found the German Democratic Party
Max Weber: Education

 In 1882 Weber enrolled in the University of Heidelberg as a law

student
 In 1884 transferred back home to study at the University of
Berlin
 Studied one term at the University of Goettingen and had short
periods of military training
 In 1886 passed the “Referendar” (similar to the bar association
in British and American legal systems) but continued to study
history
histor
 In 1889 earned his law doctorate and two years later was
qualified to hold a German professorship
Max Weber: Post Education

 After 1889 took an interest in contemporary social policy

 Joined a professional association of German economists
(called the “Verin”) who saw economics solved the many social
problems of the age
 In 1890 the “Verin” established a research program to study
influx of foreign farm workers to Eastern Germany as local
laborers migrated to Germany’s
Germany s rapidly industrializing cities
cities.
 Weber was put in charge of this study and wrote a large part of
the results.
 The final report was acclaimed as an excellent piece of
empirical research and boosted Weber’s reputation as an
expert in agrarian economics (microeconomics)
 Later Life

 1893-Married
1893 Married Marianne Schnitger
Schnitger, who later
became an author and published Weber’s
works after his death
 1894 M
1894-Moved d tto the
th UUniversity
i it off F
Freiburg,
ib
appointed professor of Economics
 1896-Moved to the University of Heidelburg
 1898- Quarreled with his father,
who died two months later, which left Weber
more pprone to nervousness
and insomnia.
 Reduced his teaching load and spent months
in a sanitarium
 1900-Moved to Italy for two years
 The Protestant Ethic

 Between 1898-1902 Weber

didn’t publish a single paper
 1903-Resigned
1903 Resigned from
Heidelburg professorship and
became an associate editor for
Archives for Social Science
and Social Welfare
 1904-Published The Protestant
Ethic and the Spirit of
Capitalism, his most famous
and influential work.
During WWI

 During World War II, Weber joined the worker and

soldier council of Heidelburg (1918).
 Was also consultant to the German Armistice
Commission at the Treaty of Versailles, and a
member of the committee responsible
p for drafting g the
Weimar Constitution
-He personally advocated for the inclusion of Article 48 in
the Weimar Constitution, which Hitler later used as justification
for his dictatorship
After WWI

 He resumed teaching after WWI,

WWI first at Vienna and
later at Munich
 In Munich he established a sociologygy institution in
the University but didn’t personally participate in it.
 He was extremely left-wing during this time,
prompting
ti severall right-wing
i ht i protests
t t from
f students.
t d t
 Max Weber died of pnuemonia in Munich on June
14 1920
14,
Max Weber: Works Intro
 Individualist
 More cultural in orientation than Marx and Durkheim
 Believed the work of social institutions was collective among
individuals under influence
 Religious, Political, Economic, and Aesthetic all motivated
action.
 Argued that social science should seek causal arguments that
generalize past any particular case, even if it was not possible
to build universal laws of human society.
 Stressed the pproper
p object
j of analysis
y was social action.
(action results from the head which has subjective motivations)
Max Weber

Objectivity in Social Science

Max Weber: Objectivity in Social
Science

 Only way to escape the subjectivity of researcher is

the use of ideal types
 Ideal types must be explained in detail to understand
how the historian would like the word to be
interpreted.
 Confuses theoryy and historyy
 Capitalism and Democracy?
 Church and sect?
 If a historian
hi t i does
d nott pay attention
tt ti to t the
th use off
ideal types without elaboration, his work may be
vaguely felt.
Max Weber: Objectivity in Social
Science

 The danger of ideal types results from a cultural

understanding
 Ideal types used in objective explanations of social
action should be concerned with the ideas that
subjectivity motivate action
 “Synthesis
y is an ‘idea’ which we have created
emerges even more markedly when those
fundamental main principles have either only very
imperfectly
p y or not at all been raised to the level of
explicit consciousness or at least have not taken the
form of explicitly elaborated complexes of ideas.”
Max Weber: Objectivity in Social
Science

 Ideal types usually represent what is essential to the expositor

in that period in time.
 Ex. Christianity
 If a historian portrays the ideas he feels are essential to
Christianity this will represent his “idea” of Christianity
 This ideal may differ from the values of other persons say the
earlyy Christians or people
p p with similar beliefs but in different
denominations
 This creates an invalid interpretation
 There must be a p precise distinction between logically
g y
comparative analysis of reality by ideal types in the logical
sense and the value judgment of reality on the basis of ideals.
Max Weber: Discussion Questions
Q

 Weber identified a technique used by historians called an “ideal

ideal
type” which represents concepts that need to be explained by
the historian to identify what the historian had in mind. Can you
think of an example where this could be applied to today’s
today s
world and how could it be misinterpreted?
 How important do you feel that the explanation of ideal types is
when a new idea or unfamiliar idea is brought forth? Can it be
considered a good or bad thing when new ideas are brought
forth differ from the collective empirical knowledge that exists?
Basic Sociological Terms

Max Weber - 1914

Preliminary
y Information

 Found at the beginning of Economy and

Society
 Attempts to outline the basic tools of
sociology
 Provides Weber’s view of sociology as a part
of the social sciences
 Definition
f off Sociology
S
and Social Action

 "Sociology
Sociology is a science concerning itself with
the interpretive understanding of social
action and thereby with a causal explanation
of its course and consequences."
 Action relates to how an actor attaches
“subjective meaning” to his/her behavior and
it is “social” to the extent that its subjective
j
meaning takes account of the behavior of
others.
Methodological
g Foundations

1
1. Meaning (two kinds)
1. the actual existing meaning of a particular actor or the
average
g meaning gg
given to a g
group
p of actors
2. the theoretically conceived pure type of subjective
meaning attributed to the actor/group
2. Distinguishing
Di ti i hi meaningful i f l action
ti from
f simple
i l
reaction is difficult, and purely historical actions are
often both active and reactive
Methodological
g Foundations (cont.)
( )

3
3. “All
All interpretation of meaning strives for clarity and
verifiable accuracy.” Basis for certainty can be either
rational ((math/logic)
g ) or emotional ((empathy/art).
p y )
1. For methodological reasons, it is preferable to treat all
irrational action as a deviation from an typical rational course
of action
 Weber emphasizes that rationality is a method of sociology
and should not be the substance of sociology
Methodological
g Foundations (cont.)
( )

4
4. “In
In all the sciences of human action
action, account must be
taken of processes and phenomena which are devoid
of subjective
j meaning…”(stimuli,
g ( , results,,
circumstance)
5. Understanding may be of two kinds:
1. Direct observational (speech, facial expressions)
2. Explanatory understanding (understanding the
motive behind an action)
Methodological
g Foundations (cont.)
( )

6
6. Understanding involves the interpretive grasp of
meaning in one of the following contexts:
1. Historical – intended meaning g for concrete action
2. Sociological mass phenomena – average intended meaning
3. Ideal types – appropriate to scientific understanding
 Oft we have
Often h only
l the
th 'imaginary
'i i experiment'
i t' - thinking
thi ki
away particular elements of a chain of motivation and
thereby arriving at a causal judgment.
Methodological
g Foundations (cont.)
( )

7
7. Motive - a complex of subjective meanings which
seems to account for the conduct in question
8
8. Processes and uniformities not designated as
sociological because they are not
“understandable” are not any y less important.
Such phenomena are treated as conditions,
stimuli, or circumstance (furthering or hindering)
Methodological
g Foundations (cont.)
( )

9
9. Action ... exists only as the behavior of one or more
individual human beings
1. Thinkingg on lower levels does not lead to subjective
j
understandings.
2. Social collectivities must be treated as modes of organization
resulting from actions of individuals.
individuals
3. Weber cautions against “organic” school of sociology, which
focuses on the “whole” in which the individual may act. He
believes that this is a valuable first step
step, but only a first step
of sociological analysis.
Methodological
g Foundations (cont.)
( )

10
10. Sociological "laws"
laws - or generalizations from typical
probabilities observed
1. "are both understandable and definite in the highest
g degree
g
insofar as the typically observed point of action can be
understood in terms of the purely rational pursuit of an end.“
2
2. It is when the means to such actions are clearly determined
by the context, that it becomes clear that purely
psychological approaches fail.
 Weber believed that using any kind of psychology as the
ultimate foundation of the sociological interpretation of action
to be flawed and erroneous
Methodological
g Foundations (cont.)
( )

11
11. Sociology differs from history in that we seek generalized
uniformities and processes to form type concepts, which
differs from the exact data proposed in a particular case by
historians.

 Sociological concepts can contribute towards the causal

explanation of historically and culturally significant
phenomenon.
h
 Sociology can offer greater precision in concepts as a trade
for precision in empirical cases
 while
hile we
e seek a ssubjective
bjecti e understanding,
nderstanding actors ma may not be
consciously aware of these motivations themselves. Actors
often act out of impulse or habit.
Social Action

1. Social action is oriented toward others. These can be past,

present, or future, known or unknown.

2
2. Not every kind of action is social action
action. Overt action is non
non-
social if it is oriented solely to the behavior of inanimate objects
(religious activity such as personal meditation or prayer).

3. Not all contact is social (like a collision of two cyclists) if it is

merely a natural accident. The discussion/confrontation that
follows the crash would be.

4. Social action is not identical to similar actions across many

people or every action influenced by other people. Putting up
umbrellas due to rain is not a social action. Neither is simple
imitation of others, if it is entirely reactive.
Types
yp of Social Action

Social action may be oriented in four ways:

1. Instrumentally rational - Determined by expectations as to the
behavior of objects or persons in the environment
2. Value rational- Determined by a conscious belief in the value for
its own sake of some ethical , etc
etc. behavior
behavior, independent of its
success
3. Affectual ((especially
p y emotional)) - Determined by
y the actors specific
p
states and feelings
4. Traditional - Determined by ingrained habit.
Types
yp of Social Action
1. Strictly traditional behavior is often NOT social, but a matter of
purely automatic reaction.
2. Purely
P l affectual
ff t l behavior
b h i also l stands
t d on th the b
borderline
d li off what
h t
can be "meaningfully" oriented - such as emotional reactions.
3. Value-rationality
y differs from affectual in its conscious formulation
of the ultimate values guiding the action. These are people acting
on their convictions, regardless of the outcome.
4
4. Action s instrumentally rational when the end
end, means and
secondary results are all rationally taken into consideration and
weighed.
5
5. It would be very unusual to find any type of social action that was
solely one of these ways, nor is this thought to be an exhaustive
list.
Discussion Questions
Q

 With Weber’s definitions of social action in

mind, create some hypothetical scenarios in
which social action occurs and then classify
the type of social action it exhibits. Also
create scenarios that do not fit Weber’s
definition and explain why they are not
examples of social action
action.
Discussion Questions
Q

 What examples from Weber’s Basic

Sociological Terms are still relative in
contemporary sociological theory and how?
Did this work influence other famous
sociologists?
 How has sociological theory evolved and
how might it be different
ff without the works off
Max Weber?
Max Weber

The Protestant
Th P t t t Ethic
Ethi andd the
th
Spirit of Capitalism
Die p
protestantiche Ethik und
der “Geist” des kapitalismus
The Basic Idea

 A rise in rationalization
rationalization, particularly
rationalization of the economy
 To Weber,
Weber the most rational economic system
is capitalism
 Capitalism arose when large numbers of
people worked in the secular world, influenced
by a work ethic derived from Protestantism
Protestantism,
particularly Calvinism. This lead to the
development
p of enterprises
p and accumulation
of wealth.
…continued

 Worldly activities
activities, particularly business
business, were
given positive social and moral meaning,
ethically encouraged
encouraged, and rationally pursued
pursued.
 NOT the goal of the religion, but rather a
byproduct giving rise to capitalism
byproduct, capitalism, allowing
for the basic amount of accumulated wealth
for capitalism
p to evolve.
 Paradox: Religious devotion is not typically
associated with worldlyy success- Whyy is this
so in Protestantism?
The Protestant Ethic

 Calvinists believed in predestination-

predestination their salvation
(or lack thereof) was already determined and what
they did on Earth didn’t change it.
 Therefore they looked for signs of their salvation
Therefore, salvation,
the major one being success in business.
 It was also their ethical dutyy to seek p
profit, or to be a
good worker
 There was no guilt in being a successful capitalist,
extorting workers
workers, because success and failure
economically was decided by God and a marker of
divine favor.
Protestant Ethic

 The new Protestant religions compelled people to

work extremely hard in the secular world, making it
more likely they’d
they d accumulate wealth.
 However, these sects forbade using this wealth for
materialism, luxuryy g
goods, etc., so the majority
j y of this
capital was re-invested into enterprise to be even
more successful.
 All these beliefs about economic success add up to
the Protestant Ethic
Roots of the Protestant Ethic

 The Reformation-
Reformation There was no longer solely
salvation in the church.
 New Protestant religions
g that didn’t look to the
church to earn or assure salvation, but rather that it
was already pre-ordained.
 H
However, th
the average P
Protestant
t t t could ld nott easily
il
adjust to this new view, only “religious geniuses” like
Martin Luther could acceptp this without qquestion.
 Protestants began to look for other signs or divine
signals that they were among the saved.
Spirit
p of Capitalism
p

 Essentially the ideas and habits that favor the

rational pursuit of economic gain.
-This is the attitude of what Weber calls the
“heroic enteprenuers”.
 Not motivated by greed for profit, as had been the
case for the rest of history, but by an ethical system
that encouraged hard work and economic success.
 Being successful and working hard was highly moral,
and one’s moral duty.
Spirit
p of Capitalism
p

 Systematical, rational pursuit of profit

Systematical
combined with frugality, punctuality, fairness,
and the earning of money itself as a
legitimate goal.
 This was not compatible with other religions,
particularly Catholicism, allowing capitalism
to first
f and more successfully
f evolve in
Protestant countries.
Capitalism
p

 Capitalism continued to be successful as the western

world continued to become more and more secular.
 The religious underpinnings of capitalism’s
capitalism s success
disappeared from society.
 However, the Protestant ethic was largely responsible
for what Weber terms the “disenchantment of the
Western world”, becoming an industrialized society
free from “magic”.
 This thesis is quite a critique of Marx by stating that
religion
li i ffostered
d capitalism,
i li not that
h the
h bbase ffor
capitalism was actually economic.
Discussion Questions
Q

 Do you think Weber’s thesis is valid? Did

capitalism come from this Protestant ethic, or
could there be other explanations (Marx
(Marx,
Polanyi)? Why or why not?
 How much of a role does religion play in the
economy in today’s modern society? How
much does modern society affect
ff religion?
?