Max Weber

Question 1

How did Weber define sociology?

Answer 1

The interpretive understanding of social interaction and a causal explanation for it.

Question 2

What did Weber think of a scientist’s values?

Answer 2

They should not be present in research, but will be in choosing what to study.

Question 3

What was Weber focused on?

Answer 3

Large scale structures and seeing patterns in individuals—“what’s going on right now? why this way and not another?”

Question 4

What type of thinking did Weber align with most?

Answer 4

Methodology—Identifying generalized uniformities from empirical research (not laws, not random events)

Question 5

What is causality?

Answer 5

Probability that one event follows another (not certain, one-way)

Question 6

What is verstehen?

Answer 6

The idea that social scientists have an advantage over natural scientists because they understand the behavior of people.

Question 7

What are ideal types?

Answer 7

Ideal types are tools to help us understand a social phenomenon. Basically, it’s a set of criteria that defines our understanding of a structure.

Question 8

What are the varieties of ideal types?

Answer 8

Historical (specific period) General (Number of places and periods) Action (individually motivated) Structural (causes and consequences of social action) HGAS

Question 9

What is social action?

Answer 9

stimulus -> thought -> meaningful response, involves interpretation of action.

Question 10

What are the four ideal types of action?

Answer 10

Means-ends rationality (motivated by desire to achieve an outcome) Value rationality (motivated by one’s own sake) Affectual (motivated by emotional state) Traditional (motivated by habits and customs) VMAT

Question 11

How does Weber approach stratification?

Answer 11

Class (economic), Status (social) and Party (political)

Question 12

What is the difference between class and status?

Answer 12

Class is a group acting on shared economic situation, but status is a community with shared honor and consumption

Question 13

What was Weber’s approach to structures of authority?

Answer 13

He wanted reform, but not revolution. Democracy is the best hope for political leaders.

Question 14

What are the three structures of authority, according to Weber?

Answer 14

Rational-Legal (belief in legality) Traditional (sanctity of established traditions) Charismatic (devotion to leader w/special power)

Question 15

Aspects of a rational-legal authority?

Answer 15

High efficiency, reliability and calculability. Threatens individual freedom with too much.

Question 16

Aspects of traditional authority?

Answer 16

Lacks hierarchy and clearly defined roles, forms barrier against rationality.

Question 17

Aspects of charismatic authority?

Answer 17

Can threaten other types of authority, little hierarchy, rules influenced by leader

Question 18

What is rationalization?

Answer 18

Efficient, reliable and regular patterns of action within civilizations, institutions, etc.

Question 19

What are the four types of rationality?

Answer 19

Theoretical (mental effort to understand reality) Substantive (means-ends calculation for something valued) Practical (means-ends calculation for pragmatic goal) Formal (means-ends calculation for universal goal) TFPS

Question 20

What is rationalization?

Answer 20

The movement towards formal rationality.

Question 21

What are the four paths to salvation?

Answer 21

Mysticism (contemplation, emotion and inaction while away from the world-otherworldly-or still within it-innerworldly)

Asceticism (Denying self worldy pleasures while away from the world-otherworldly-or still within it-innerworldly)

Question 22

How is Protestantism related to the rise of capitalism?

Answer 22

In Calvinism, people felt encouraged to accumulate wealth because it was a sign of their salvation -> self-interest and accumulation as ethical duty.

Question 23

What are four criticisms of Weber?

Answer 23

• Versterhen isn’t objective
• No real macrosociology
• No critical theory
• Crushing pessimism