Max Weber's Canonic Theories

Improved Essays
Besides Bourdieu, the theorist I like the most is Max Weber. He approached the subject cautiously, built the bridge between the canonic theories and the latter ones, and is extremely relevant to many phenomena that happen nowadays.
Before we delve into the specific arguments of him, first of all, he was very cautious of making any absolute claims, and I respect such cautiousness especially in the study of the society and of the social because causality is so hard to define. For example, unlike Durkheim, Weber did not intend to establish sociology as another scientific body that is different from psychology or economics, but rather he emphasized the importance of empirical investigation and interpretation (Hughes et al. 2003). In addition, unlike
…show more content…
The biggest different between Weber and Durkheim or Marx is that Weber put much more emphasis on individuality. Weber thought that the society was too complicated and there was too much multidimensionality of individuals to be possibly comprehended by humans, let alone establish a body of scientific, systematic knowledge. His emphasis on individuality is the introduction of the synthesis of structure and agency, which we have discussed in question one in this exam. This kind of emphasis on individualism certainly had an influence on later theorists who put more emphasis of human interaction on the individuals – for example, Foucault, Bourdieu, and symbolic interactionist like Erving Goffman. In addition, Weber viewed religious beliefs as the cause of people’s devoted involvement …show more content…
I admire him because he proposed these very relevant and probably never outdated theories when he lived in a very different time from ours (maybe not that drastically different, considering how both societies are experiencing radical changes but in different forms). For example, his descriptions of bureaucracy are simply accurate even though he was trying to make some generalization of some emerging trend during his time. What Weber described in bureaucracy is indeed how businesses, organizations, and governments are run in the 21st century, and in almost all parts of the world. I do experience the iron cage and the impersonality of rules on a daily basis. In addition, many of Weber’s categorizations are genius, and thinking along with his categorizations, I can make sense of the world to a great extent. Some categorizations that I find brilliant including the three types of social groups as social classes, status groups, and parties and the three types of domination as traditional, charismatic, and

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    Urban Aboriginal Gangs

    • 769 Words
    • 4 Pages

    “Urban Aboriginal Gangs and Street Society in the Canadian West: Places, Performances, and Predicaments of Transition” by Kathleen Buddle, provided interesting connections to our previous readings and class discussions related to the effects of life chances (Ringer, 2004; 2014; 2010). Additionally, it provided unique insights into the lived experiences of former Winnipeg gang members. The first-person accounts included here proved to be particularly thought-provoking and provided significant insight into various stages of gang membership. While Buddle includes the personal histories of female gang members Jessie McKay and Ivy, additional information on the role of women in gangs is limited.…

    • 769 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Karl Emil Maximillian “Max” Weber was a profound political economist whose ideas had a major influence on the creation of social theory and sociology. He focused on the research of an individual’s purpose and one’s meaning of action associated with the rise of capitalism in the world. Weber developed a new way of thought in reference to sociology. His new way of thinking connected sociology with the religion present within the society. Weber stressed this concept in his book The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism, where he concentrated on ascetic Protestantism in association with the rise of capitalism in Europe.…

    • 390 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    9. Which do you think is more accurate the pluralist view or the majoritarian view? (Which can stop police brutality?) I think the pluralist view is more accurate when it comes to stopping police brutality. I think this because the pluralist view conveys that democracy comes from openness of the system to group interests, and competition, but not as a result of mass participation.…

    • 710 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Superior Essays

    The investigation of individual experiences, beliefs and conducts which are shaped by social forces, is the main aim of social science. But Social theories consist of diverse and often contradictory approaches about what is social science and what methods and presuppositions should sociologist take into consideration when they study the social phenomena (Kadakal, 2013). The aim of this essay is to present the main ideas of Durkheim and Weber, two of the founding fathers of social science, through their studies persuaded to examine the social issues which occurred in Europe during the 19thcentury. Firstly outlined Durkheim’s positivist empirical method of studying the social reality and his main ideas of his works ‘The Division of Labor in Society…

    • 1626 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Weber, a German sociologist and political economist throughout the nineteenth and twentieth centuries continued to…

    • 1171 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    This viewpoint gives religion its fair chance to display its significance within society and modernity without being blatantly reductionistic. Although, I will admit, in regards to Weber’s approach, there was one specific, moment when I thought he became his own worst enemy. For instance, the last idea Weber proposes on the last page of his essay seems to be counterintuitive to his overarching thesis. He states, “It would also further be necessary to investigate how Protestant asceticism was in turn influenced in its development and its character by the totality of social condition, especially economic” (125). This phrase really dumbfounded me at first.…

    • 1764 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Great Essays

    This essay will compare and critically evaluate the conceptions of power and domination that is found in the social theories of Karl Marx, Max Weber and Michel Foucault, and explain which of these theories are the most compelling to understanding how power works in the todays modern contemporary setting. To illustrate and argue this point, this essay will explore and evaluate examples in the modern setting on the operation of power. This essay will explore the works of these three social theorists and discuss and contend on which (if any) theories by Marx, Weber or Foucault apply to modernity. This paper will begin by outlining and analysing each of the fundamental key theories from the three social theorists aforementioned, compare and contrast…

    • 1874 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Karl Marx and Emile Durkheim are two of the founding figures of sociology. They were the first to explore the relationship between the economy and society in the nineteenth and twentieth century, each developing different perspectives of society. Despite them having significantly different views on modern capitalism, they both played a prominent role in the development of sociology as an academic discipline. This essay provides a biography of Marx and Durkheim and the major works they published. It then focuses on the intellectual and historical contributions they have made and how their works are still influential to contemporary society.…

    • 1069 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Social theorists, writers and philosophers of almost every time period have examined the convoluted relationship between social relations and individuals including Karl Marx and Georg Simmel. While some have taken the approach that individuals are shaped by their social world, others insist that the social world itself is what shapes individuals. There are a few theories that exist with regards to the connection between individuals and society which will be discussed throughout this short essay in order to fully explain the relationship between individuals and society. Starting off with the conflict theory by Karl Marx, he was primarily focused on the structures of society. The conflict theory is one of the fundamental ideologies that explains social life as a battle between social groups for power and scarce resources.…

    • 809 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Karl Marx, Emile Durkheim and Max Weber are three fundamental figureheads in the foundation of sociology who asserted that our lifestyles are products of the society in which we live. They all lived in a period of great social change, that of the Industrial Revolution, and based their writings and musings upon what they observed happening around them and extrapolated as to the condition of the future. One foundational product of contemporary societies, that truly came into existence at the time during which they were writing, would be the economy and economic life. Looking at it on a macro level perspective, it is one of the aspects of the social superstructure. It is a social institution by itself, but it also shares a give and take relationship with other institutions in society and the superstructure such as education, ethics, law, religion, etc.…

    • 1198 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    page 184 " the most important opponent with which the spirit of capitalism, in the sense of a definite standard of life claiming ethical sanction, has had to struggle, was that type of attitude and reaction actuations we may designate as traditionalism" Weber believed that there had to have been a in between stage in order for people to stop practicing their traditional spirit of religion and transfer over to the spirit of capitalism and he believed it was the seed planted by the Protestant religion that help transform Western society. Where traditionally people would work long enough to support a traditional life they lived in a farm based or rule society where they could barter for services. Protestants believe that the harder you worked the more God would bless you. Proving to be successful economically showed that you were in God 's favor and that you would go to heaven. You live to work for the goal of unlimited wealth.…

    • 1206 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Max Weber’s key concept was rationalization. This refers to the eradication of mystery and emotion from everyday life and their replacement by rational calculation and control. This essay will discuss Weber’s contribution towards sociology in terms of rationalization and his attribution to ‘The Protestant Ethic’. It will introduce Weber’s key approaches, such as social theory, rationalization in regards to modern society, bureaucracy, the ideal type and a contemporary example of rationalization. Furthermore, capitalism will be discussed, in order to depict Weber’s theories in comparison to Marx’s.…

    • 2122 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Charlottesville: A Durkheimian Perspective Introduction Emile Durkheim plays a pivotal role in the field of sociology. His innovative research paved the way to new theories that help us explain and understand the way society works. Durkheim is responsible for numerous contributions to the field of sociology, but is often known for his theories on collective conscience, solidarity, and anomie. Collective Conscience Collective conscience denotes the interest of the collective level of society (Emile Durkheim). Durkheim's theory on collective conscience refers to the “totality of beliefs and sentiments common to average citizens of the same society” that “forms a determinate system which has its own life” (Durkheim 38-39) or collective representations.…

    • 896 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Weber disagreed with some of Marx’s theories. Weber did not believe in worker’s revolution, but he looked at a broader conception of class, power and it outcomes, also power controls different types of resources. Kerbo (2006) acknowledges for Weber, he recognized that human are divided, but not only by economic ownership, but occupational skills, status and organization power, which are class, standë/status, and party/power. Weber used the two forms of economic division that was under class and based on the ownership and occupational skill. Kerbo (2006) explains that Weber acknowledges that people are divided by honour, status, or prestige that is held to value system and political…

    • 1667 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Bureaucracies manage every duty with formal regulation. Weber believed that it was essential for an organization to exercise common sense and that personnel would be less likely to challenge their superiors if the authority were acting in a rational manner. As long as the policy…

    • 1083 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays