By: Marissa Madrigal, Beau Hindman, Amy Wrenn
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Born in Thuringia, Germany (1864)
Was the eldest of eight children
Weber was a sickly child who suffered from
physical and mental torment
His father was a prominent liberal politician
and civil servant,
His mother was a moderate Calvinist and very
religious.
Parents were refugees from Catholic
persecution
Parents had marriage problems because of
different beliefs.
Both Weber and his brother Alfred became a
sociologists and economists.
Passionate
reader
•At
14 he was writing essays about Homer, Virgil, Cicero,
and Livy.
•At 18 he entered University of Heidelberg
•He was shy and thin, his shyness quickly
disappeared when he enter a dueling fraternity.
•With this he started to drink large quantities of beer
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was engage for six years to his cousin Emmy but ended
it because of mentally and physical problems
Age eighteen he entered University of
Heidelberg
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•He
was shy and thin, his shyness quickly
disappeared when he enter a dueling fraternity.
•With this he started to drink large quantities of beer
From time to time he would served with the German army
in Strasbourg.
In 1884, he returned and study at the University of Berlin.
He also attended University of Goettingen but was once
again interrupted for military training.
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In 1893 he married his distant cousin Marianne
◦ She was later a feminist
◦ She collected and published Weber's journal articles as books
after his death
 After his father’s death, Weber became prone to nervousness and
insomnia. He developed psychological problems and was
institutionalized in a sanitarium.
◦ Took over five years to recover
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He was encourage to write
◦ In 1903 he became co-editor of the Archiv fuer
Sozialwissenschaft
◦ This became the leading Social science journal in Germany.
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He resumed his teaching duties during WWI
In 1904, he visited the U.S, which helped him with his recovery and
was fascinated by America.
◦ He delivered an essay about the social structure of Germany while
in St. Louis for the Congress of Arts and Sciences.
Between 1892 and 1905 he wrote a series of essays and speeches
which addressed the failure of German idealism.
 These articles dealt with the social and economic conditions in
eastern Germany.
 His works were rarely published during his lifetime.
 His works slowly were translated in English.
 In 1905, “The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism,” was
published.
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War broke out
◦ Weber was the first German to opposed it openly
◦ Criticized the ineffectiveness of German leadership
The last few years of his life, he became very political.
◦ Wrote many political newspaper articles.
◦ He was founding member of and active campaigner
for the newly organized Deutsche Demokratische
Partei.
◦ There was a proposal to make him a candidate for
presidency of the Republic.
Max Weber died of pneumonia in June 14, 1920
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Weber’s work
◦ The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism
(1905)
◦ The Religion of China: Confucianism and Taoism
(1916).
◦ The Religion of India: the Sociology of Hinduism
and Buddhism (1916-17)
◦ The Sociology of Religion (1921)
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Adolescent: Greek and Latin classics
◦ Homer, Virgil, Cicero & Livy
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Influences on his work:
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Comte
Marx
Nietzsche
Kant
Neo-Kantians
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August Comte (1798-1857)
◦ Believed in the “Hierarchy of Science”:
 Each science is dependent upon the other
 This hierarchy ranges from the simplest to more complex forms
of science
 The sciences above rely on the sciences below, therefore he
believed that the sciences on top, such as Sociology were more
abstract and difficult than those on the bottom.
• Weber disagreed with Comte’s notion of hierarchy. He believed there
could be as many sciences as needed. “A method must advance
knowledge rather than be faithful to an imaginary ideal of
cognition”.
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Weber’s methodological approach, however, was influenced by the
ideas from Comte
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Nietzsche & Marx
◦ Influence evident in Weber’s sociology of ideas and
interests:
 Weber:
 material & ideal interests dictate and individual’s conduct
 World Images are a product of created ideas that an individual has
 Social action is governed by the dynamic of individual interests
◦ Weber believed ideas had a greater significance than
Nietzsche & Marx thought
◦ Marx’s belief that ideas were expressions of public
interest and that they served as weapons in the struggle
between classes and political parties also heavily
influenced Weber.
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Marx
◦ Weber and Marx agreed that modern methods of the
organization increased efficiency and effectiveness of
production, but it “threatens to dehumanize its
creators”.
◦ Economic Order: Weber did not agree with Marx
 Marx maintained that economic order was determined by
class struggle and owners of production
 But Weber believed the character of political power and the
effect of the military also played important roles in
determining power relationships.
 The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism was a reaction to
Marx’s metaphysical view that all events of civilization are
reducible to a single cause, namely the economic order.
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Marx
◦ Weber’s theories regarding stratification and
economic behavior are rooted from the Marxian
economics of society.
◦ Weber saw democratic ideals come from the
Marxian revolutionary ideology.
◦ So much of Weber’s work was influenced by Marx.
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Nietzsche:
◦ Analysis of Psychological Mechanisms: Ideas
become rationalizations to use as private
aspirations or power and mastery.
 Both Nietzsche and Weber worried about the future
and the 20th century. They thought it would be full of
tyranny and horror.
 Apparently they possessed good reason to harbor such
concerns.
Much of Weber’s work was influenced by Nietzsche.
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Kant
◦ Happiness and the good must be different
◦ One does the good out of a sense of obligation or duty
◦ Morality must be linked to the universal categorical
imperatives
◦ These categorical imperatives based in pure reason and
stand outside the human condition
◦ Morality serves as a “bridge” between pure reason and
the ontological state of humanity
◦ Humans must be totally free to express an authentic
sense of duty.
◦ But if knowing the good requires doing the good, can
humans actually be fully free?
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The Neo-Kantians
◦ A broad cultural movement focused on an
intellectual critique of the ideas of Positivism,
Naturalism & materialism which followed the
aftermath of the decline of German Idealism.
 Autonomy of the Individual
 Became critical of social domination (via governments)
◦ Weber strongly identified with the Neo-Kantian
movement because of his German citizenship
 Proposed a unified Germany where all people worked
toward the German national mission.
 He demonstrated the methodical ethic of work
(Rational Capitalism)
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Weber is considered one of the founders of
modern sociology
◦ His work is considered to be complex, varied and
open to subjective interpretation
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Recognized advantage sociologists had over natural
scientists
Natural scientists cannot gain insight to the
behavioral patterns of the phenomena they study
(example: cannot empathize with the function of an
electron or chemical compound)
Methods should be derived from studying the context
of the phenomenon but also empathizing with the
individuals involved, so in this sense, a mode of
interpretation.
Critiqued as being little more than intuition; an overly
soft and subjective method
Weber insisted his approach was a rational procedure
involving systematic research
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Weber defined sociology as the study of
social action between or among individuals
(action defined as meaningful, purposive
behavior)
◦ This definition contrasts Durkheim's impression of
society as "structures that function apart from
human purpose and will"
◦ Individual action treated as the basic unit of
analysis
◦ Reflects, in part, the notion of transactionalism.
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Zweckrational
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Wertrational
◦ Rational means to attain a particular rational end chosen
◦ example: person pursues college degree to (hopefully)
obtain a job that grants financial security
◦ Rational means to attain an irrational end
◦ example: person follows teachings of a prophet, or lives a
certain way in hopes of receiving "eternal salvation"
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Affekual
◦ Social action guided by emotions
◦ example: person attends a particular college because
their significant other is enrolled there
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Traditional
◦ Social actions guided by customs and habits
◦ example: standing at a football game for the singing of
the “Star Spangled Banner”
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Weber maintained that human social action in
general has become more formal and rational
by deliberately matching means to ends.
Claimed that only in modern societies does
formal rationality exist in all spheres of social
action.
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A sort of measuring rod, devised of the most
"logically consistent" features of a phenomenon
Example: Ideal Capitalism has four basic and
logical components:
 private ownership
 pursuit of profit
 competition
 laissez-faire economics
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Weber thought the world was becoming
increasingly rational (rather optimistic)
Supported his assertion via cross-cultural
analysis
Weber considered modern capitalism to be
the root motivation of rationalization
 the motivation for maximum profits required rational
reasoning to develop efficiency
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Practical Rationality
◦ Characterized by acceptance of given realities or
constraints in society and simply calculating the
best way to deal with them
◦ Patriarchy
Theoretical Rationality
◦ An attempt to master reality, characterized by
transcending daily realities in pursuit of
enlightenment
◦ Searching for the Truth of the Universe
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Substantive rationality
◦ Courses of action are determined by a value system in
which behaviors are limited
◦ “Women and children first!” (assumes women and children
represent the future and that men are more expendable)
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Formal rationality
◦ Courses of action are determined by universally applied
rules, laws, and regulations
◦ “Do not kill”
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Weber saw formal rationality as leading to the "Iron
Cage“: rational and established rules designed to
prevent individuals from deviating.
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Weber defined bureaucracies as "goal-oriented
organizations designed according to rational principles in
order to efficiently attain the stated goals"
Weber saw the formation and execution of bureaucracies
as necessary to complex societies
The ideal bureaucracy possesses these characteristics:
◦ Official business is conducted on a continuous basis
◦ Business is conducted in accordance with stipulated rules
◦ Every official's responsibility and authority are part of a hierarchy
of authority
◦ Officials do not own the resources necessary for them to perform
their assigned functions, but they are accountable for the use of
those resources
◦ Offices cannot be appropriated by their incumbents in the sense
of property that can be inherited or sold
◦ Official business is conducted on the basis of written documents
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Weber thought it was important to go beyond
simply recording events
Needed to explain the reasons behind the
events
Weber decided that causal certainty was
impossible
Therefore, the best way to measure causality
was by probability
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Human actions cannot be explained in terms
of absolute "laws" such as cause and effect.
To grasp the meaning of human actions
would require a different method
The social scientist's own moral, political and
aesthetic values will enter into their
conclusions in a way that those people in the
natural sciences would find odious.
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According to Weber, values play a crucial role before,
during, and after social research
He strongly thought teachers must keep their
personal values out of the classroom
However, he thought that scholars have a perfect
right to include their values
◦ "Students should be presented with the facts; attendees
at a conference, or some other public gathering, expect
to hear opinionated comments supported by facts"
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Weber believed that quantitative, empirical studies
cannot tell people what they "ought" to do.
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Definitions:
◦ Power: the ability to impose one's will onto another,
even when the other objects.
◦ Authority: legitimate power, power that is exercised
with the consent of the ruled
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Rational-legal authority
◦ Established via impersonal, rational rules that have been legally
enacted (possibly by contract)
◦ Example: The United States Government
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Traditional authority
◦ Power is traditionally transmitted from generation to generation,
by inheritance or appointment
◦ Example: Monarchies
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Charismatic authority
◦ Based on the appeal of figures who claim to possess extraordinary
virtuosity
◦ Naturally unstable because power is with the individual
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Note the Leader-Follower dynamic
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Weber's best-known work
Traced the impact of Protestantism (primarily
Calvinism)
◦ Believed to be one of the most powerful forces
behind capitalism, though not exclusively
 Profit as a moral crusade - legitimated inequality
 Found nations with comparable technology and
infrastructure lacked the cultural (religious)
encouragement
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Weber’s historical research suggested that
Catholicism regulated the notion of divine
vocation to clerics.
On the other hand, Luther “secularized” the
notion of vocation, suggesting God took
interest in the work of all persons and would
be ultimately rewarded—or punished—for
such labors.
But at the hands of John Calvin, this “work
ethic” becomes more complex.
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Calvin advocated a doctrine of Predestination
◦ Before creation, God already knew who would accept the
gift of salvation and who would not.
◦ Those persons who were predestined to accept the gift
of salvation were known as the Elect. All others would
be damned.
◦ Sadly, humans could not know the mind of God in such
matters.
◦ Therefore, it would be better to live the life of true faith
(frugal, pious, suffer in silence, work hard)
◦ Wealth might serve as an indicator of one’s devotion to
Christ if one saved it rather than spent it.
◦ “Inter-worldly asceticism”
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Weber thought that the Protestant Ethic
promoted rationalization of Western society.
He also maintained that greed would serve as
a poor motivator for capitalism, since the
focus would be both on higher profit and
higher levels of spending (let everybody know
you are wealthy).
But does such an ethic really exist today?
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Book length chapter in Economy and Society
Looked at four different aspects of religion
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Religious Leaders
Social Classes and Groups
Belief and Behavior
Religion and other spheres of life
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Magician
◦ Practical problem solvers who often worked with
spirits
◦ Endowed with charisma
◦ Healer and miracle workers
◦ Appears in even complex religious systems
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Priest
◦ Permanent paid post
◦ Charisma associated with the post, not the person
◦ Professional ritualists interested in the status quo
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Prophet
◦ Highly charismatic figure
◦ Commanded by a super-ordinate other to declare a
life-changing direction
◦ Often considered revolutionary
◦ Often mendicant in nature
◦ Two types:
 Exemplary Prophet (teach by example)
 Ethical Prophet (teach a universal set of ethics)
◦ Followers must quickly “routinize” the charisma of
the prophet into a “congregation”
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Unlike Marx, Weber assumed groups were
formed on grounds other than economic
separation and exploitation:
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Location
Vocation
Education
Honor
Religion would need to reflect aspects of all
the social groups
This idea would explain the diversity of
religions
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For instance, a poor, uneducated dirt farmer
would require a religion that provided rain for
the crops and a “common sense” approach to
understanding the world.
A warrior for a sultan would need a religion
that would provide a motivation and reward
for engaging in battle, perhaps seeing secular
war as a reflection of a larger, spiritual one.
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With the exception of Confucianism,
according to Weber, most prophetic religions
have morphed into “salvation religions”
◦ The masses demand a savior figure while the
educated may focus on more esoteric expressions
of salvation, such as nirvana.
◦ The “Savior Cult” of the masses offer its followers
the hope of a optimistic future, full of rewards
◦ The intellectual will look for a sense of enhanced
personal meaning (perhaps considered another type
of reward)
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All communities need to address the question
of theodicy:
◦ If there is a just and good god/dess interested in
human affairs, how can evil exist in the world
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Weber introduces three ideal types as
responses
◦ This worldly future justice or outside this world
future justice
◦ Humans can never know the answer to this question
◦ The opposition of two ultimate realities (good vs.
bad, sentience vs. non-sentience, physical vs.
spiritual)
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The last two ideal types assumes humans
cannot do anything to resolve the problem of
theodicy; the solution must come from a
transcendental effort
The first one assumes humans can bring
about their own salvation
◦ Become a “spiritual athlete” who practice “virtuoso
sanctification” through a highly ritualized life of
asceticism
◦ Become a mystic who rejects the world and hence
transcends it
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Weber notes that many religions understand
that humans cannot do anything to initiate or
aid in their salvation (the anti-doctrine known
as Pelagianism among Orthodox Christians)
◦ Available as “institutional grace”
◦ A response to a heartfelt, personal faith
◦ Predestination
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So how does religion intersect with other
aspects of society?
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Economics
Politics
Sexuality
The arts
Many religions understand the need to
practices the giving of alms
Calvin, however, maintained those persons
who were capable of work and did not do so
should receive nothing.
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Concerning the other spheres, Weber
maintained the need for religions to seek
compromises
◦ Recognize the independence of the state
◦ Recognize the erotic but seek to contain it
◦ Recognize the value of expression, but only when it
focuses upon the sacred
Group
QUASIEXPERIMENTAL
GROUP
Step 1
Find "matched" societies
in terms of their minimal
conditions.
Step 2
Do historical research on
their properties before
stimulus introduced.
Step 3
Examine the
impact of the key
stimulus, religious
beliefs.
Step 4
Use
historical
evidence
to assess
the impact
of the
stimulus.
Step 5
View differences
between Europe, China,
and India as caused by
religious beliefs.
Western
Europe
Descriptions of Europe
(using historical ideal
types)
Experiences
stimulus with
emergence of
Protestantism
Modern
capitalism
Western Europe is
changed.
QUASICONTROL GROUP
China
Descriptions of China
(using historical ideal
types)
Experiences no
stimulus
No
capitalism
China is much the same
as before.
QUASICONTROL GROUP
India
Descriptions of India
(using historical ideal
types)
Experiences no
stimulus
No
capitalism
India is much the same
as before.