The Changing Picture of Max Weber's Sociology

Sociologist Max Weber

The Changing Picture of Max Weber's Sociology,

By Richard Swedberg, American Journal of Sociology.

Often referred to as one of the founding fathers of Sociology, German philosopher and sociologist Maximilian Karl Emil "Max" Weber intensely influenced social theory, social research, and the discipline of sociology itself. Weber was a main advocate of the study of social action through interpretive means, based on understanding the meaning that individuals assign to their own actions, and is best known for his thesis combining economic sociology and the sociology of religion. He expanded on these topics in his book "The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism", in which he proposed that ascetic Protestantism was one of the major "elective affinities" associated with the rise in the Western world of market-driven capitalism and the rational-legal nation-state.

Weber's views on this have been highly respected and studied for many years. Some may argue, though, that those views are not today what they were during Weber's time. In his article, "The Changing Picture of Max Weber's Sociology", Swedish sociologist Richard Swedberg presents the arguments that Weber's views of sociology have begun to change and that one important factor in this change has to do with the perception of the role that the economy played in Weber's life and work. This article pays special attention to Weber's views on economic sociology, and the fact that his family originated from wealthy merchants and educators (two of his political uncles were Strassburg professors), with whom he strongly associated and related to.

While many of the individual contributions that Weber made are considered still valid, nowadays quite a number of significant sociological views and opinions are anchored in the maintenance and cultivation of more modern interpretations.

References:

Swedberg, R. (2003). The Changing Picture of Max Weber's Sociology. American Journal of Sociology. Retrieved on November 24, 2012, from http://www.press.uchicago.edu/ucp/journals/journal/ajs.html