SOCIOLOGICAL THEORY

MAX WEBER
By: Chua, Christian Cometa, Ally De Vera, Robby Lee, Agnes Moalong, Patricia Montojo, Mimi Regente, Belle Reyno, Kris

MAX WEBER
1864-1920 Pronounced

vey-bear German Protestant Mother was a strong Calvinist Father was a German bourgeoisie politician

MAX WEBER
Paradigm: Pluralist Class of Theories: Divergent Interests
Sociology is properly concerned with individuals,

not just structure

Overview
Weber used a multidimensional approach to

analyzing society.
His interpretation of sociology merged the

economic, cultural, and political organizations of society together as being what shaped social institutions and social change. "social action" as a behavior to which people give meaning

Four Major Themes of Webers Study

The importance of meaning and action Class and Inequality: Class, Status and Power Bureaucracy and Rationality Religion and Class as the key dynamic factors

that influence society.

The Fundamental Concepts of Sociology

Sociology is a science which attempts the

interpretive understanding of social action to arrive at a casual explanation of its course and effects.
Action is human behavior to which the acting individual attaches subjective meaning.

Modes of Orientation of social action:

Uniformity of social action Usage Custom Action

Types of Social Action

Purposeful or Goal-oriented Rational Action Value-oriented Rational Action Emotional or Affective Motivation Action Traditional Action

THE METHODOLOGICAL FOUNDATIONS OF SOCIOLOGY

There are two kinds of meaning:
actually existing meaning in a given concrete case

of a particular actor, or average or approximate meaning attributed to a given number of actors; and theoretically conceived pure types of subjective meaning attributed to hypothetical actor(s) in a given type of action (like an ideal type).

THE METHODOLOGICAL FOUNDATIONS OF SOCIOLOGY

There are 2 kinds of understanding:
observational understanding explanatory understanding

Ideal Types
An ideal type is not meant to be a moral ideal. There can

be an ideal type of a brothel or a chapel. It is not a statistical average Used to develop hypotheses

Three Levels of Ideal Types

First are the ideal types rooted in historical

particularities A second kind involves abstract elements of social reality Finally, there is a third kind of ideal type. . .rationalizing reconstructions of a particular kind of behavior

THE CONCEPT OF SOCIAL RELATIONSHIP

Social relationship: the behavior of actors in

so far as, in its meaningful content, the action of each takes account of the others and is oriented to the behavior of others.

The Concept of Legitimate Order

The validity of an order is the probability that

people will orient their action to it.

Types of Legitimate Order

Legitimacy of an order can be upheld in 2

ways:
purely disinterested motives purely affectual rational belief in absolute validity of an order as an expression of ultimate values religious attitudes, through belief in need to follow order for salvation
entirely through self-interest based on ulterior

motives

Bases of Legitimacy
Tradition Affectual attitudes Rational belief in its absolute value Legality

Class and Inequality: Class, Status and Power

Power - ''chance of a man or a number of men

to realize their own will in a social action even against the resistance of others who are participating in the action'

Class and Status

Method for studying stratification of populations for sociological purposes. Class
propertyand lack of property is the basis of all

class situations Class is a type of socioeconomic category Rational behavior

Status
Evaluations people make of one another Rank order of desired behavior and traits Value-oriented behavior

Question:
What is the relationship between Class and

Status? between Class situation, Status Situation, and Stratification?

Parties
Parties reside in the sphere of power''. Parties are only possible within groups that

have an associational character, that is, some rational order and a staff of persons. Parties aim for social power.

Authority
Rational-legal authority
Traditional authority Charismatic authority

Bureaucracy and Rationality

Bureaucracy
Formal organization of the officialdom of large-scale enterprise.

the ideal-type of such as organization characterized by:

Clearly defined division of labor Rationality Impersonal application of rules

Routinization of tasks to the degree that personnel are easily

replaceable

Max Weber: Study of Religion

Major works
The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism The Religion of China The Religion of India Ancient Judaism

These major works were based on the question: Why did

modern capitalism initially occur in the West and not in other parts of the world?

Max Weber: Study of Religion

The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of

Capitalism is part of an exercise in historical hypothesis testing in which Weber constructed a logical experiment using ideal types as conceptual tools.

Max Weber: Study of Religion

Theology has an enormous impact on

behavior---even economical and social behavior.

Max Weber: Study of Religion

Weber developed a historical ideal type called

Spirit of Capitalism. This ideal type has four components:

Work is valued as an end in itself Trade and profit are indicators of personal virtue

A methodically organized life governed by reason

indicates a righteous state of being Delayed gratification is a virtue

Max Weber: Study of Religion

Weber focused on the Calvinists form or

Protestantism Calvinists theology/doctrine had four consequences on the Spirit of Capitalism:

Predestination Lack of certainty of salvation created inner

loneliness and isolation

Max Weber: Study of Religion

People looked for signs of being among the elect Absolute duty to consider themselves chosen Intense worldly activity creates self-confidence All believers were expected to lead methodical

and ascetic lives unencumbered by irrational emotions, superstitions, or desires of the flesh

Max Weber: Study of Religion

Even though the strict nature of early

Protestant groups are all but gone----the residues are evident in todays society.

Summary
There are four major themes in his study of society:
Religion and Class as the key dynamic factors that influence

society.
He agreed with Marx that 'class' as 'political economic power' was a major factor in the historical development of 'modern society. However he disagreed that 'class' was the only institution that dominated the development of modern society. Weber believed that cultural factors, especially religion, were also important. However, Weber didn't argue that religion was the cause of Capitalism but that Protestantism and Capitalism fitted together and developed in interaction with each other. So he did NOT argue that religion 'created' capitalism.

Summary
Class and Inequality: Class, Status and Power
Whilst he also agreed with Marx that ownership of

capital or labor separated the two major classes of society, he also argued that social inequality in modern society was more complicated than this. He argues that differences in the amount of social power, or STATUS differences He argues with Marx too about political power. Weber believed that modern society was dominated, not only by owners of capital, but also by those with political power. He sees bureaucracy as the major of basis of power in modern society.

Summary
Bureaucracy and Rationality
He argued that modern society is distinguished

from pre modernism by the way we think, feel and operate in the world. For Weber the key contrast is that we privilege rational thinking above traditional thinking. Bureaucracies are the most important social institutions creating and perpetuating modern society because they are predominantly based on rationality.

 The importance of 'meaning' and 'action

Sociologists should study not just the objective

aspects of society ie. 'what we do'. but should address the meaning of behavior...'why we act. He puts 'behavior' and 'meaning' together in his concept of 'Action Research'

Sources:

http://www.bolenderinitiatives.com/sociology/max-weber-1864-1920 http://www.marxists.org/reference/subject/philosophy/works/ge/weber.htm http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_Max_Weber's_contribution_to_sociology#ixzz1e FWKTJWC http://ssr1.uchicago.edu/PRELIMS/Theory/weber.html