Max Weber and his theories. Max Weber: basic ideas. Understanding Sociology and Theory of Social Action

Max Weber, a German social philosopher, economist and historian, is often called one of the founders of modern sociology. The arguments in favor of this statement are as follows: (1) he gave a systematic presentation of the conceptual foundations sociological perspective; (2) he developed a coherent philosophy of social science that conceptualized the essential foundations of social action; (3) in a number of independent areas, he captured the main characteristics of modern industrial civilization; (4) through empirical studies modern society, he identified a number of key issues that became the focus of further fundamental discussions within the discipline; (5) his own life provides a compelling example of sociology as a vocation.

Biographical milestones . Max Weber was born in 1864 in Erfurt into the family of a lawyer. He received an upbringing that was characterized by family wealth, political liberalism and the Protestant spirit. He studied at the Universities of Heidelberg, Göttingen and Berlin. The topic of his early scientific research was the economic life of ancient and medieval societies. From 1891 to 1897 he- Professor of Law and Political Economy at several universities in Germany. At the same time, he conducts active research and journalistic activities. However, his teaching and research was interrupted by illness, accompanied in 1897 by a neuropsychic disorder. Despite this, his academic productivity continued to be enormous. Since 1907, having received an inheritance, he devoted himself entirely to science. For a number of years he has been actively collaborating with the German Association of Sociologists, occupying very prominent positions there. With the outbreak of the First World War, he entered the public service(which he always had great respect for). Died in 1920 in Munich.

Weber's creative heritage is very extensive and varied. We will touch here only on some of the most significant sociological views of the great German sociologist; in our other methodological manuals we also touch on some of his ideas.

2.5.1. Sociological method

Sociology in the second half of the last century was, in essence, a rather young science. As we remember, the founder of this science, Auguste Comte, was at the same time the founder of a new scientific method - positivism. Positivism, considering human society as one of the varieties of natural reality, required approaching its study using those methods that have proven themselves in the natural sciences: observation, recording facts, generalization and derivation of patterns.

Thus, positivism from the very beginning acquired a dominant position in the new science. However, as it developed, an increasing number of researchers thought about the legitimacy of using this particular research method. Thus, the German cultural historian and social philosopher W. Dilthey argued that in social disciplines the methods of cognition should differ from those that have developed in the natural sciences. The fact is that society consists of individuals endowed with consciousness, and it itself is a human creation. If the natural sciences deal with external experience and resort mainly to explanation observed phenomena, then sciences studying a society consisting of people must take into account an understanding of the feelings, motives, and interests of these people.

These ideas had a serious influence on M. Weber in his thoughts about the scientific method that should be applied in the science of human society. And he ultimately comes to the conclusion that the social sciences in this sense must be profoundly different from natural sciences(although they have a common rational principle with them). One of the most important distinctive features science about human society should be understanding. Weber assumes that sociology must understand the meanings that people attach to their actions. This is why the term is introduced Verstehen, which is literally translated from German as “understanding” and acquires a rather autonomous meaning in Weber’s sociological method.

At the same time, sociology, being a science that studies human behavior to the maximum generalized form, cannot devote himself to identifying the motives of each individual individual - all these motives are so different and unlike one another that we will not be able to draw up any coherent description of them or create any typology. However, this, according to Weber, is not necessary: ​​since all people have a common human nature, we need simply to draw up a typology of the various actions of people in their relations with their social environment.

The essence of use Verstehen consists of putting oneself in the position of other people in order to see exactly what meaning they attach to their actions or what goals they believe they serve. If sociologists are to analyze, for example, the social reasons why people wave their arms, they must have some basis for deciding what exactly motivates someone to wave their arms up and down (right-left) and why. others do not do this in a similar situation. If you fail to explore these kinds of meanings, it can become a source of serious misconceptions, with groups of actions being classified as belonging to the same category when in fact they belong to different categories. Exploring the meaning of human actions is, to some extent, simply an extension of our everyday attempts to understand the actions of the many different people around us.

As one of the important research tools in his social analysis, Weber uses the concept ideal type. An ideal type is a certain mental construction that is not extracted from empirical reality, but is created in the head of the researcher - as a theoretical scheme of the phenomenon being studied - and acts as a kind of “standard”, by comparing the object of interest to us, we can judge the degree of distance or , on the contrary, bringing the empirical reality under study closer to it. Weber emphasizes that the ideal type itself cannot provide knowledge about the relevant processes and connections of the social phenomenon being studied, but is a purely methodological tool. As Yu.N. points out. Davydov, “the ideal-typical construction answers the question of what the social process and the actual circumstances of its course would be like if they fully and completely corresponded to their principle (rule), their logically consistent scheme.”

Weber suggested that sociologists select as characteristics of an ideal type certain aspects of behavior or institutions that are observable in real world, and exaggerate them into forms of logically understandable intellectual construction. Not all characteristics of this design can be represented in the real world. But any specific situation can be understood more deeply by comparing it with the ideal type. For example, specific bureaucratic organizations may not exactly match the elements of the ideal type of bureaucracy, but knowledge of this ideal type can shed light on these actual variations. Therefore, ideal types are rather hypothetical constructs, formed from real phenomena, and having explanatory value. "Ideal" here means "pure" or "abstract" rather than normatively desirable. Generally speaking, the precise connection between ideal types and the reality to which they relate remains not entirely clear. Weber, on the one hand, assumed that identified discrepancies between reality and the ideal type should lead to a redefinition of the type, and on the other hand, he also argued that ideal types are models that cannot be tested. However, other social scientists have treated them as testable models of the real world. Further confusion may arise from the fact that Weber himself often tacitly used ideal types as testable models. However, the essence of this tool will become better understood from its application. We will look here at two ideal types used by Weber in his sociology.

2.5.2. Ideal Types of Social Action

One of the central concepts of Weberian sociology is social action. Here's how Weber himself defines it:

“Action” we call a person’s action (regardless of whether it is external or internal, whether it comes down to non-interference or patient acceptance), if and insofar as the acting individual or individuals associate a subjective meaning. “Social” we call an action that, according to the intended actor or actors meaning correlates with action others people and focuses on it."

However, the actions and actions of people are also studied by many other sciences, in particular history and psychology. What is the qualitative uniqueness of purely sociological approaches? First of all, sociology studies generalized people's behavior as if it were taking place under some ideal conditions. At the same time, she is interested not only in the orientation of actions towards other people, but also in the degree to which they are filled with a certain meaning. The concept of meaning is derived from relationship between ends and means. The study of various options for this relationship leads Weber to the construction of an ideal typology of social actions (see Table 2.2).

The point is that any actions and actions performed by human beings can be “measured” using these unique standards, that is, they can, with a greater or lesser degree of approximation, be assigned to one of the four ideal types given in the table. Let's try to look at each of them in more detail.

Table 2.2

Ideal Types of Social Action

Type	Target	Facilities	General characteristic
Purposeful	It is realized clearly and distinctly. Consequences are anticipated and assessed	Adequate (appropriate)	Completely rational. Assumes a rational calculation of the reaction of the environment
Value- rational	The action itself (as an independent value)	Adequate to the given goal	Rationality may be limited - by the irrationality of a given value (ritual; etiquette; dueling code)
Traditional	Minimal goal setting (awareness of the goal)	Habitual	Automatic response to habitual stimuli
Affective	Not realized	Henchmen	The desire for immediate (or as quickly as possible) satisfaction of passion, relieving nervous and emotional tension

Purposeful action . This maximally rational type of action is characterized by clarity and awareness of the set goal, and this correlates with rationally meaningful means that ensure the achievement of this particular goal and not some other goal. The rationality of a goal can be verified in two ways: firstly, from the point of view of its own content, secondly, from the point of view expediency(those. consistency with purpose) selected funds. As a social action (and therefore focused on certain expectations on the part of other people), it presupposes a rational calculation of the acting subject for an appropriate reaction from the people around him, on the one hand, and for the use of their behavior to achieve a set goal, on the other. Here it is necessary to remember that such a model acts primarily as an ideal type, which means that real human actions can be understood primarily through measuring the degree of deviation from this model. In some cases, such deviations are not too significant, and we can speak of a real action as “almost purposeful.” If the deviations are more significant, then they practically lead us to other types of social behavior.

Value-rational action . This ideal type of social action involves the commission of such actions that are based on the conviction of the self-sufficient value of the act as such, in other words, here the action itself acts as the goal. Value-rational action, according to Weber, is always subject to certain requirements, in following which the individual sees his duty. If he acts in accordance with these requirements - even if rational calculation predicts a greater likelihood of unfavorable consequences of such an act for him personally - then we are dealing with a value-rational action. A classic example of value-rational action: the captain of a sinking ship is the last to leave, although this threatens his life. Awareness of this direction of actions, correlating them with certain ideas about values ​​- about duty, dignity, beauty, morality, etc. - already speaks of a certain rationality and meaningfulness. If, in addition, we are dealing with consistency in the implementation of such behavior, and therefore intentionality, then we can talk about an even greater degree of rationality, which distinguishes a value-rational action, say, from an affective one. At the same time, in comparison with the goal-rational type, the “value rationality” of action carries within itself something irrational, since it absolutizes the value towards which the individual is oriented.

“Purely value-rationally,” says Weber, “acts one who, regardless of foreseeable consequences, acts in accordance with his convictions and fulfills what, as it seems to him, duty, dignity, beauty, religious precept, requires of him, reverence or importance of any... "deed". A value-rational action... is always an action in accordance with the "commandments" or "demands" that the actor considers imposed on himself."

It seems that the difference between goal-rational and value-rational types of social action is approximately the same as between truth And true. The first of these concepts means “that which There is in fact", regardless of the system of ideas, beliefs, beliefs that have developed in a particular society (as V.I. Dal notes in this regard: "Everything that There is, That true; not the same thing There is And truth, truth?"). Obtaining this kind of knowledge is really not easy; you can simply approach it consistently, step by step, as the positivist Comte proposes to do. The second means comparing what you observe or intend to do with the generally accepted norms in this society and ideas about what is proper and right. In other words, the truth is always normative. As the same Dahl defines “truth”: “truth in deed, truth in image, in goodness; justice, fairness.”

Traditional action . This type of action is formed on the basis of following tradition, that is, imitation of certain patterns of behavior that have developed in culture and are approved by it, and therefore are practically not subject to rational comprehension and criticism. Such an action is performed in many respects purely automatically, according to established stereotypes, it is characterized by the desire to focus on habitual patterns of behavior that have developed on the basis of one’s own experience and the experience of previous generations. Despite the fact that traditional actions do not at all imply the development of an orientation towards new opportunities (and perhaps this is precisely why), perhaps it is precisely this that constitutes the lion's share of all actions performed by individuals. To some extent, people’s commitment to performing traditional actions (manifested in a huge number of options) serves as the basis for the stability of the existence of society and the predictability of the behavior of its members. As Weber himself points out,

"...purely traditional action... is on the very border, and often even beyond, of what can be called "meaningfully" oriented action."

Affective action . The least meaningful of the ideal types listed in the table. Its main characteristic is a certain emotional state - an outburst of passion, hatred, anger, horror, etc. Affective action has its own “meaning”, mainly in the speedy removal of emerging emotional tension, in release. In this way it is directly opposite to goal-oriented action; however, here lies a certain similarity with value-rational action, which, as we have seen, also does not strive to achieve some “external” goal and sees certainty in the very commission of the action.

“An individual acts under the influence of passion if he seeks to immediately satisfy his need for revenge, pleasure, devotion, blissful contemplation, or to relieve the tension of any other affects, no matter how base or refined they may be.”

The above typology can serve as a good illustration for understanding the essence of what was defined above as the “ideal type”. Hardly any of the real actions performed in this world real people, could be fully characterized as relating to one or another ideal type of social action. They can only be more or less close to one of them, carry in themselves the features of both. And each of the ideal types will perform the functions of a “standard meter” - an iridium bar stored in the Paris Chamber of Weights and Measures.

The last two ideal types of social actions, strictly speaking, are not completely social - at least in the Weberian sense of the word. In fact, both traditional and especially affective types of action are in many ways close to those types of action that are also characteristic of animals. The first of them - traditional - can be largely likened to the conditional, and the second - affective - unconditioned reflex. It is clear that they are to a much lesser extent a product of the intellect than the second and, especially, the first types of social action.

The above typology of ideal types of social actions is quite closely related to one of the core ideas of Weber’s sociology - the idea of ​​consistent rationalization social life. In general, the idea of ​​increasing the importance of rationality as historical development of this or that society runs like a red thread through Weber’s scientific work. He is firmly convinced that rationalization- this is one of the main trends itself historical process. Rationalization finds its expression in increasing the share of goal-oriented actions in the total volume of all possible types of social actions and in increasing their significance from the point of view of the structure of society as a whole. This means that the way of farming is rationalized, management and way of thinking are rationalized. And all this, according to Weber, is accompanied by a colossal strengthening of the social role of scientific knowledge - this most “pure” embodiment of the principle of rationality. Formal rationality in Weber's understanding is, first of all, calculability everything that can be quantified and calculated. The type of society in which this kind of dominant arises is called by modern sociologists industrial(although Saint-Simon was the first to call it that, and then Comte used this term quite actively). Weber (and, following him, most modern sociologists) calls all previously existing types of societies traditional. The most important feature of traditional societies is the absence of a formal rational principle in the social actions of the majority of their members and the predominance of actions that are closest in nature to the traditional type of action.

Formal-rational - this is a definition applicable to any phenomenon, process, action, which is not only amenable to quantitative accounting and calculation, but, moreover, is largely exhausted by its quantitative characteristics. The movement of the process of historical development itself is characterized by a tendency for the growth of formal-rational principles in the life of society and the increasing predominance of the goal-oriented type of social actions over all others. It is clear that at the same time this should mean an increase in the role of intelligence in common system motivations and decision-making of social actors.

A society where formal rationality dominates is a society where the norm is not so much the desire for profit as rational (i.e., rationally calculating) behavior. All members of such a society behave in such a way as to use everything rationally and for the general benefit - material resources, technology, and money. Luxury, for example, cannot be considered rational, since it is by no means a wise use of resources.

Rationalization as a process, as a historical tendency, according to Weber, includes: (1) in the economic sphere- organizing factory production by bureaucratic means and calculating benefits using systematic evaluation procedures; (2) in religion- the development of theological concepts by intellectuals, the gradual disappearance of the magical and the displacement of the sacraments by personal responsibility; (3) in law- erosion of specially designed /ad hoc/ lawmaking and arbitrary judicial precedent by deductive legal reasoning based on universal laws; (4) in politics- the decline of traditional norms of legitimation and the replacement of charismatic leadership by a regular party machine; (5) in moral behavior- greater emphasis on discipline and education; (6) in science- consistent reduction of the role of the individual innovator and the development of research teams, coordinated experiments and state-directed scientific policy; (7) in society as a whole- spread of bureaucratic methods of management, state control and administration. The concept of rationalization was thus part of Weber's view of capitalist society as a kind of "iron cage" in which the individual, devoid of religious meaning and moral values, would be increasingly subject to state surveillance and bureaucratic regulation. Like Marx's concept of alienation, rationalization implies the separation of the individual from the community, family, church and his subordination to legal political and economic regulation in the factory, school and state. Thus, Weber unconditionally presented rationalization as the leading tendency of Western capitalist society. Rationalization is the process by which the sphere of human relations becomes a subject of calculation and management. While Marxists recognized the leading position of calculation only in the labor process and factory discipline, Weber found rationalization in all social spheres - politics, religion, economic organization, university administration, in the laboratory, and even in musical notation.

2.5.3. Sociology of domination

One of the questions that constantly occupied Weber and to which he returned again and again in his works was the reasons why some people submit to others, as well as the mechanisms through which social relations of dominance and subordination are carried out. It should immediately be noted that Weber distinguishes power And dominance. The first, he believes, precedes the second and does not always have its characteristics. Strictly speaking, domination is rather a process of exercising power. In addition, dominance means a certain probability that orders given by some people (who have authority) will be met by other people with a willingness to obey and carry out these orders.

One of the important questions is: under what conditions do relationships of dominance and subordination arise between people? These relationships, according to Weber, are based on mutual expectations: on the part of the manager, the one who gives orders, the expectation that the order given will certainly be executed; on the part of the managed - the expectation that the manager has the right to give such orders; Only with confidence in such a right does the controlled person receive motivation to carry out the order. In other words, legitimate, i.e. legal domination cannot be limited to the very fact of using power; it requires faith in its legitimacy. Power becomes dominance when it is regarded by people as legitimate. At the same time, Weber argues,

"...the legitimacy of an order can only be guaranteed internally, namely:

1. purely affective: emotional devotion;

2. value-rational: belief in the absolute significance of order as an expression of the highest immutable values ​​(moral, aesthetic or any other);

3. religiously: faith in the dependence of good and salvation on the preservation of a given order."

There are three ideological bases of legitimacy that can invest rulers with power: traditional, charismatic and legal-rational. In accordance with this, Weber justifies three ideal types of dominance, each of which is named according to its ideological basis. Let's look at each of these types in more detail.

Legal-rational domination. (It is sometimes called simply rational). Here the main motive for submission is, to a certain extent, the satisfaction of one’s own interests. At the same time, people obey not so much other people as generally accepted laws, rules that these other people express and on whose behalf they act. Legal-rational domination implies obedience to formal rules established through “correct” public procedures. Hence the important role played in legal-rational domination bureaucracy, as an integral element of a rational society and the enormous attention that Weber pays to it in his studies.

The very concept of “bureaucracy” has at least two meanings: (1) a certain method of management and (2) a special social group that carries out this management process. Weber again emphasized rationality as the main characteristic feature of any bureaucratic organization. Bureaucratic rationality, according to Weber, should be considered as the embodiment of capitalism in general (we will consider the reasons for this below); Therefore, a decisive role in a bureaucratic organization must be played by technical specialists who have received special training and use scientific methods in their work.

A bureaucratic organization is characterized by a number of important features, among which Weber identifies the following. Efficiency, achieved mainly due to a clear division of responsibilities between employees of the apparatus, which makes it possible to use highly specialized and highly qualified specialists in each position. Strict hierarchization of power, which allows a superior official to exercise control over the activities of a subordinate. Formally established and clearly recorded system of rules, ensuring uniformity of management activities and the application of general instructions to particular cases, as well as preventing uncertainty and ambiguity in the interpretation of orders; employees of a bureaucratic organization are subject primarily to these rules, and not to the specific person who expresses them. Impersonality administrative activities and emotional neutrality relations: each functionary acts not as a special unique personality, but as a formal bearer of social power at a certain level, a representative of the position he holds. Other characteristic features of bureaucracy also include: administration based on written documents; recruiting personnel based on abilities and technical knowledge acquired through specialized education; long term service; promotion based on seniority or merit; fixed salary; separation of private and official income.

Modern scientific analysis of Weber's position argues that his idea of ​​​​the rationality of bureaucracy contained two slightly different points. In one sense, the rationality of bureaucracy was that it maximized technical efficiency. The rules that determine the most appropriate means to achieve organizational goals are based on modern technical knowledge and guide the behavior of organizational members along the most effective lines of behavior. In another sense, bureaucracy is a system of social control or authority that is accepted by members of an organization or social community because they view the rules as rational, right, and fair—a “legal-rational” value system. However, the main property of bureaucracy, according to Weber, is its predictability.

Weber's main goal was a broad historical comparative analysis of the methods of political administration and their impact on society, he sought to identify bureaucratic ideal type. However, as we remember, reality does not have to coincide with the ideal type (or rather, it should not coincide). Real bureaucratic organizations quite often turn out to be ineffective; they carry, along with rational features, many rational ones, along with formal relations, informal ones. Not to mention the fact that obedience here often turns into an end in itself, and power is legitimized by the very fact of being in office.

Traditional dominance. It rests on the habitual, most often not fully conscious, belief in the holiness and inviolability of generally accepted traditions and in the legitimacy of the prerogatives of power granted by them. An adherent of traditional authority accepts rules that embody custom and ancient practice. Within this type of domination, the right of power is most often hereditary in nature (something like this: “I serve this man because my father served his father, and my grandfather served his grandfather”). In its purest form it is patriarchal power. The concept of "patriarchy" in sociology is usually used to describe the dominance of men over women, and it can manifest itself in different types of societies. This concept is also used to describe a certain type of household organization in which the oldest man dominates the entire family, including younger men. Therefore, the relationship between the ruler and his administrative apparatus under the traditional type of domination can be likened to the relationship between the householder and servants, as well as relatives dependent on him: they wear personal character, distinctly emotional and based on personal loyalty.

One of the most common types of traditional domination, according to Weber, is patrimonialism. In patrimonial systems, administrative and political power are under the direct personal control of the ruler. Moreover, support for patrimonial power is provided not so much by those forces that are recruited from the landowning aristocracy (which is typical, for example, of feudalism), but rather with the help of slaves, regular troops or mercenaries. Weber viewed patrimonialism as: (1) politically unstable, being subject to intrigue and palace coups, and (2) an obstacle to the development of rational capitalism. In other words, patrimonialism appeared as one aspect of Weber's explanation for the lack of capitalist development in various Eastern societies dominated by personal rule.

Charismatic dominance. It is based on the exceptional qualities attributed to the leader. The term itself charisma(from Greek charisma- divine gift, grace) was introduced into the sociological conceptual apparatus by the German theologian E. Troeltsch. In this type of dominance, orders are carried out because the followers or disciples are convinced of the very special character of their leader, whose power exceeds the usual existing practice. Charismatic dominance is based on the extraordinary, perhaps even magical ability that the master possesses. It does not matter that in reality this ability is endowed by his followers themselves - those who follow him and are devoted to him (although they believe that some higher powers endow him with this gift). Neither origin, nor heredity associated with it, nor any rational considerations play a role here - only the personal qualities of the leader. Having charisma means direct, directly exercised dominance. Most of the prophets famous in history (including all the founders of world religions), generals and outstanding political leaders were charismatics.

As a rule, with the death of a leader, disciples dismantle charismatic beliefs or transform them into traditional (“official charisma”) or legal-rational forms. Therefore, charismatic power itself is unstable and temporary.

2.5.4. Sociology of religion

Some of Weber's critics argued that he aimed to refute historical materialism and sought to explain the process of historical development solely by the influence of religious beliefs dominant in a particular society. This is not entirely true. Weber, rather, tried to prove that the economic behavior of people depends significantly Not only on the nature of production relations (as Marxism claims), but also on general views people to the world around them. Meanwhile, religious dogmas and their interpretation are the most important component of their general vision of the world. Therefore, in the market, a Christian will behave completely differently from a Muslim or a Buddhist. Thus, while studying the sociology of religions, Weber's main task is to find out how the economic behavior of people depends on the nature of their worldview.

Probably the most clear illustration of this approach should be considered one of his most famous works, “The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism.” It argues, in particular, that the secular culture of capitalist society paradoxically arose from the asceticism inculcated by Protestant reformism.

Let's try to mentally imagine a map of Europe late XIX century and distinguish three groups of countries on it - in accordance with which of the directions of the Christian religion was traditionally dominant in them. We will see the Catholic south and southwest (Italy, Spain), the Orthodox east and southeast (Russia, Balkans, Greece) and the Protestant center and northeast (England, Germany, Scandinavian countries). If we then try to identify zones that differ in the degree of development of the capitalist economy of that period, we will be convinced that the boundaries of the area where the level of “advancement” of capitalism was the highest coincide quite clearly with the boundaries of the Protestant world (especially if we add here the USA ). Already this purely geographical approach suggests certain historical connections.

However, first it is necessary to identify the most character traits himself capitalism as an ideal type.

"Capitalism, according to Weber, is determined by the presence of enterprises..., target which obtaining maximum profit, A means achieving this goal - rational organization of labor and production. The combination of the desire for profit with rational discipline is a historically individual feature of Western capitalism. Money-hungry individuals have been found in all known societies, but a rare and perhaps unique feature of capitalism is that the desire for gain is satisfied not by conquest, speculation or other adventures, but by disciplines and sciences(emphasis mine. - V.A.)" .

At the same time, capitalism of the Western type developed only in Western European civilization and, above all, in those societies where the ideology of Protestantism dominated. Protestant ethics, as a set of moral rules that should be followed in everyday activities, can be reduced to five main provisions of the Calvinist concept:

· - there is God, the Most High, who created the world and who rules it, but who is incomprehensible to the finite mind of people;

This omnipotent and mysterious God has predetermined each of us salvation or condemnation to destruction, but we are powerless by our actions to change God’s destiny;

God created the world for his glory;

The man whom He has predestined for salvation or destruction must work to increase the glory of God and to establish God's kingdom on this earth;

Worldly affairs, human nature, the flesh belong to the category of sinfulness and destruction, but salvation is given to man from above as God's grace."

According to R. Aron, all these elements “exist in separate forms in other religions and creeds, but such a simultaneous combination of them is unusual and unique.” And the point here is not only the generation of the “spirit of capitalism”. It is equally important that a religious worldview of this kind rejects any mysticism, which means it is focused on purely worldly matters. It inclines people to turn their attention mainly to the natural order of things, which is accessible to study with the help of science and should be studied by it. Thus, all idolatry is rejected, and the interest of believers turns primarily to satisfying urgent needs, and scientific research is not rejected, but is recognized as completely legitimate.

This is Weber's famous thesis about the necessity disenchantment(or disenchantment) of the surrounding external world. The essence of Protestant ethics, according to Weber, boils down to the following: the supernatural may exist, but man is not involved in it. Resorting to any magical means as a method of salvation is declared blasphemy. The logic is quite simple: do your own thing. earthly do the best you can - only by doing this can you please God. This kind of concept

"...has an anti-ritual, anti-cult character and inclines human existence rather towards the recognition of the natural order of things, which science not only can, but should study. Thus, it indirectly favors the development of scientific research and opposes all kinds of idolatry."

And once again about the “spirit of capitalism” as such. Weber himself believes that its quintessence is best expressed in one of the letters of the remarkably famous Protestant and US freedom fighter Benjamin Franklin, and it looks as presented by Weber (in a greatly abbreviated form) as follows:

"Remember that time is money...

Remember that credit - money...

Remember that money are fertile in nature and capable of generating new money ...

Remember the proverb: the one who pays accurately, the wallet of others is open. A person who pays exactly by the due date can always borrow money from his friends that they do not need at the moment.

It should be borne in mind that the smallest actions have an impact on credit...

Moreover, accuracy shows that you remember about debts, that is, that you are not only punctual, but also honest man, and this increases your credit...

(Note that the last line directly echoes the famous Leninist phrase: socialism is accounting and control. If so, then what is capitalism?). Weber's main conclusion regarding Franklin's quote above is: "Honesty is useful because it brings credit, and so are punctuality, diligence, moderation - all these qualities are precisely That's why And are virtues." This conclusion is very pragmatic and rational and therefore fits perfectly into the Weberian concept outlined above about the consistent rationalization of the life of human society.

One of the sections of the work on Protestant ethics is called “Ascesis and the capitalist spirit.” This title directly links self-restraint in the consumption of material goods for the purposes of capitalist accumulation. Considering this problem, Weber points out that in other civilizations (for example, in Chinese) one could find many rational prerequisites for the development of a capitalist economic system, but they lacked a religious (and therefore moral and ethical) factor. For the emergence of capitalism, it was necessary to develop among a sufficiently large part of the members of society a completely special worldview in the form of a secular Protestant asceticism: “To produce as much as possible and consume as little as possible, which in a sense represents the extreme degree of irrationality, although it is precisely this feature that constitutes the essence of capitalism, as Marx sees it, and the basis of Sovietism, as those who are not communists imagine it.” .

Thus, Protestantism emphasized the independence of the individual from the church, clergy and ritual. His religious doctrines assert that believers are not obliged to depend on institutionalized means of benevolence for their salvation. catholic church(confession, Eucharist, Baptism), from the mediatorial role of the priest or from personal pious deeds. A key element of Protestant doctrines was individual faith into Christ as the personal savior of sinful humanity. Protestants were subject to "salvation tutelage" because as long as they believed that only the elect were predestined for salvation, they could not gain complete assurance of their personal salvation. Pastoral exhortation in Protestantism argued that the response to such concern should be secular vocation, self-control, hard work and community service, since these qualities could provide a sign of chosenness. Protestantism contributed much to the cultural content of early capitalism - individualism, motivation for achievement, hostility to inherited wealth and luxury, the legitimacy of the entrepreneurial vocation, resistance to magic and superstition, the desire for organization and calculation in public and personal life. And, probably, it was Protestantism that developed many of the elements of rationalization of Western society. At the same time, Weber believed that although this ethics was extremely important for the development of the spirit of capitalism, it was no longer a necessary condition for the development of capitalism after its establishment as the dominant social system.

After Protestant ethics and the spirit of capitalism Weber began extensive work on the comparative sociology of religion. It covered studies of the religions of India, China and the ancient Near East. At the time of his death, Weber was working on the sociology of Islam. In retrospect, it can be argued that the amount of information included in the preparatory materials is staggering. Some of the specific studies in the sociology of religion undertaken by Weber have had a profound impact on the general body of scholarship in these fields - for example, his study of the connection of intellectuals with salvation religions in India, his study of prophecy in ancient Israel. But while Weber went in many directions in the course of his work, he always returned to what was his main interest, namely, the relationship between intellectual and economic processes in history. Having established to his satisfaction the connection between religion and capitalism in the West, he used the general history of human religion as a gigantic laboratory to verify his original thesis. Time and time again, his main point of study in ancient and non-Western religions was the lack of asceticism of the inner world.

Max Weber (1864 – 1920) – German sociologist, social philosopher, cultural scientist and historian. He can easily be called the Leonardo da Vinci of sociology. His basic theories today form the foundation of sociology: the doctrine of social action and motivation, the social division of labor, alienation, and the profession as a vocation.

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PAGE 22

Introduction ………………………………………………………………………..3

1 Sociology of Max Weber…………………………………………………………….5

1.1. Understanding sociology and theory of social action……………..5

1.2 Sociology political power …………………………………………12

1.3. Sociology of religion………………………………………………………...16

Conclusion ……………………………………………………………………….19

Appendix 1……………………………………………………………………………….20

Appendix 2……………………………………………………………………………….21

Bibliography………………………………………………………………22

Introduction

Max Weber (1864 1920) German sociologist, social philosopher, cultural scientist and historian. He can easily be called the Leonardo da Vinci of sociology. His basic theories today form the foundation of sociology: the doctrine of social action and motivation, the social division of labor, alienation, and the profession as a vocation.

He developed: the foundations of the sociology of religion; economic sociology and sociology of labor; sociology of the city; theory of bureaucracy; the concept of social stratification and status groups; fundamentals of political science and the institution of power; the doctrine of the social history of society and rationalization; the doctrine of the evolution of capitalism and the institution of property.

Max Weber's achievements are simply impossible to list, they are so enormous. In the field of methodology, one of his most important achievements is the introduction of ideal types. M. Weber believed that the main goal of sociology was to make as clear as possible what was not so in reality itself, to reveal the meaning of what was experienced, even if this meaning was not realized by the people themselves. Ideal types make it possible to make historical or social material more meaningful than it was in real life experience itself.

Weber's ideas permeate the entire edifice of modern sociology, constituting its foundation. Weber's creative legacy is enormous. He contributed to theory and methodology, laid the foundations for the sectoral areas of sociology: bureaucracy, religion, city and labor.

M. Weber himself created many scientific works, including: “The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism” (1904-1905), “Economy and Society”, “Objectivity of Socially Scientific and Socially Political Knowledge”, “Critical Studies in Logic sciences

The development of sociological ideas about society has been increasing all the time - from Plato and Aristotle to Machiavelli and Hobbes, and from them to Comte and Marx. With every step our knowledge deepened and enriched. The highest expression was the ideas of M. Weber. He not only created the most complex theory of society in the historical period under review, but also laid the methodological foundation of modern sociology, which was even more difficult to do.

Thanks to M. Weber, as well as his colleagues German school dominated world sociology until the First World War.

1. Sociology of Max Weber

1. Understanding sociology and theory of social action.

M. Weber is the founder of “understanding” sociology and the theory of social action, who applied its principles to economic theory, to the study of political power, and the religion of law. The main idea of ​​“understanding sociology is to substantiate the possibility of maximum rational behavior, manifested in all spheres of human relationships. This idea of ​​Weber found its further development in various sociological schools of the West, which resulted in a kind of “Weberian renaissance.”

Currently, the sociology of Max Weber is experiencing a real revival. Many aspects of his philosophical and sociological views are being reconsidered and rethought. The methodology of social cognition developed by him, the concepts of understanding, ideal types, his teachings on culture, ethics, and the sociology of religion are adopted.

Weber's philosophical and sociological views were influenced by outstanding thinkers of different directions. Among them are the neo-Kantian G. Rickert, the founder of dialectical-materialist philosophy K. Marx, and the thinker F. Nietzsche.

Particular attention is paid to the influence of the Baden school of neo-Kantianism, primarily the views of one of its founders, G. Rickert, according to which the relationship between being and consciousness is built on the basis of a certain attitude of the subject to value. Like Rickert, Weber distinguishes between attitude to value and evaluation, from which it follows that science should be free from subjective value judgments. But this does not mean that a scientist should abandon his own biases; they just shouldn't invade scientific developments. IN

Unlike Rickert, who views values ​​and their hierarchy as something transhistorical, Weber believes that value is determined by the nature of the historical era, which determines the general line of progress of human civilization. In other words, values, according to Weber, express the general attitudes of their time and, therefore, are historical and relative. In Weber’s concept, they are peculiarly refracted in the categories of the ideal type, which constitute the quintessence of his methodology of the social sciences and are used as a tool for understanding the phenomena of human society and the behavior of its members.

So, according to Weber, the sociologist must correlate the analyzed material with economic, aesthetic, and moral values, based on what served as values ​​for the people who are the object of the study. In order to understand the actual causal connections of phenomena in society and give a meaningful interpretation of human behavior, it is necessary to construct the unreal - ideal-typical constructions extracted from empirical reality, which express what is characteristic of many social phenomena. At the same time, Weber considers the ideal type not as the goal of cognition, but as a means to reveal " general rules events."

According to Weber, the ideal type as a methodological tool allows:
* first, to construct a phenomenon or human action as if it took place under ideal conditions;
* secondly, consider this phenomenon or action regardless of local conditions.

It is assumed that if ideal conditions are met, then in any country the action will be performed in this way. That is, the mental formation of the unreal, ideal - typical - a technique that allows you to understand how this or that historical event really took place. And one more thing: the ideal type, according to Weber, allows us to interpret history and sociology as two areas of scientific interest, and not as two different disciplines. This is an original point of view, based on which, according to the scientist, in order to identify historical causality, it is first necessary to build an ideal-typical construction historical event, and then compare the unreal, mental course of events with their real development. Through the construction of an ideal-typical researcher, he ceases to be a simple statistician of historical facts and gains the opportunity to understand how strong the influence of general circumstances was, what the role of the influence of chance or personality was at a given moment in history.

Social actions constitute, according to Weber, a system of their conscious, meaningful interaction. As such, they form the subject of attention of the so-called understanding sociology, which consists in the fact that if a person’s actions are meaningful and internally oriented towards something, then the sociologist must understand not only the content of these actions and their possible consequences for other people, but first everything in the subjective motives of this activity, in the sense of those spiritual values ​​that guide the acting subject. Understanding motivations, “subjectively implied meaning” and relating it to the behavior of other people are necessary aspects of sociological research itself, Weber notes, citing the example of a man chopping wood to illustrate his points. So,

one can consider chopping wood only as a physical fact - the observer understands not the chopper, but the fact that wood is being chopped. The hewer can be seen as having consciousness Living being, interpreting his movements. Another option is possible when the center of attention becomes the meaning of the action subjectively experienced by the individual, i.e. the questions are asked: "Does this person act according to the developed plan? What is this plan? What are his motives? In what context of meaning do these actions be perceived by him?" It is this type of “understanding”, based on the postulate of the existence of an individual together with other individuals in a system of specific coordinates of values, that serves as the basis for real social interactions in the life world. Social action, Weber writes, is an action “the subjective meaning of which relates to the behavior of other people.” Based on this, an action cannot be considered social if it is purely imitative, when the individual acts like an atom of the crowd, or when he is oriented towards some a natural phenomenon(for example, it is not a social action when many people open their umbrellas when it rains).

And one more important remark that Weber makes: when using the concepts of “state”, “community”, “family”, etc., we must not forget that these institutions are not really subjects of social action. Therefore, it is impossible to understand the “action” of a people or a state, although it is quite possible to understand the action of their constituent individuals. Concepts such as “state”, “community”, “feudalism”, etc., he writes, “in a sociological understanding mean... categories of certain types of joint activities of people, and the task of sociology is to bring them together to the “understandable” behavior... of the individuals involved in this activity.”

"Understanding" can never be complete and always approximately. It is approximately even in situations of direct interaction between people. But the sociologist strives to understand the social life of its participants when they are distant, not only in space, but also in time: he analyzes the world of his predecessors on the basis of the empirical information available to him. He deals not only with material, but also with ideal objects and tries to understand the subjective meanings that existed in the minds of people, their attitude to certain values. A complex and at the same time unified social process takes shape only in the course of representing the coordinated interaction of people. How possible is such consistency given the relativity of individuals’ understanding of each other? How can sociology as a science “understand” the degree of approximateness in a particular human interaction? And if a person is not aware of his own actions (due to health reasons, as a result of the manipulation of his consciousness by the media, or under the influence of rally passions), will a sociologist be able to understand such an individual?

To answer these questions and resolve the problems posed, Weber resorts to constructing an ideal-typical model of an individual’s action, in which the meaning of the action and the meaning of the actor coincide, for which the concept of “purposeful rational action” is introduced. In it, both of the above points coincide: to understand the meaning of an action means to understand the actor, and vice versa. It goes without saying that in reality a person does not always know what he wants. Purposeful action is an ideal case. In total, Weber identifies four types of activities, focusing on the possible

real behavior of people in life: goal-oriented, value-rational, affective and traditional. Let us turn to Weber himself: “Social action, like any action, can be defined:

1. purposeful - this is when a person clearly understands the goal of an action and the means of achieving it, and also takes into account the possible reaction of other people to his actions. The criterion of rationality is success.

2.value-rational is when an action is performed through a conscious belief in the ethical, aesthetic or religious value of a certain behavior.

3. affective - this is when action occurs through affects, that is, unconscious psychological impulses and feelings.

4.traditionally. that is, through habit.

In this classification, the degree of awareness increases from affective and traditional social actions to value-rational and goal-rational ones. In real human behavior, all of the indicated types or types of actions are most often present. Each of them differs in its motivation, and often in the content and mechanism of social action. Scientific understanding of them is needed to take all this into account. Weber notes that all these four ideal types, that is, the types of social actions he theoretically modeled, do not exhaust their entire diversity. But since they can be considered the most characteristic, knowledge about them can be very useful for theorists and practitioners not only from the field of sociology.

Thus, the core of Weber’s “understanding” sociology is the idea of ​​rationality, which has found its concrete and consistent expression in contemporary capitalist society with its rational management (rationalization of labor, money circulation, etc.), rational political power (rational type of domination and rational bureaucracy), rational religion (Protestantism).

1. 
   Sociology of political power.

Power is one of the eternal and necessary components of human existence. It exists in any organized community of people. Among the many types of power, a special place is occupied by political power, which was finally formed in a class society. The problem of power in general, political power in particular, has always attracted the attention of sociologists. But for Weber’s work it is undoubtedly key. When analyzing power issues, Weber consistently relies on his theory of social action. Weber considers “other-oriented” to be a kind of attribute of social action, which presupposes a mutual expectation of appropriate behavior by all parties involved in political relations. This provides the legitimacy of domination: those who govern expect their commands to be obeyed; those who are governed expect a certain nature of directives. This is how a prerequisite arises - a tendency that ensures the possibility of the most rational behavior in the political sphere and allows us to achieve the utmost efficiency of interhuman relationships, meaning both those who manage and the controlled.

It is important to note that much of Weber’s concept is in one way or another connected with the Marxist sociology of power. In particular, when analyzing the relationship between managers and the managed, he devoted significant attention to the problems of social structure and class conflict. The type of domination, Weber believed, follows from their relations that develop in the economic sphere. At the same time, he emphasized the importance of other factors: differences in the status and prestige of people, their adherence to different religious values, etc. Weber paid great attention to conflicts between groups of managers. Reasons political

The sociologist saw collisions in the struggle between parties and the bureaucratic apparatus of government, the bureaucracy.

However, Weber disagreed with Marxism on the issue of ways and means of movement towards rational power, and even in defining its essence, meaning an ideal, promising type of political management. If Marx saw the resolution of social and political cataclysms in the sphere of power in the revolutionary transformation of state structures and functions in such a way that the non-political, stateless government of the people through the people themselves would ultimately be established, then Weber considered it possible to create an exemplary rational type of power within the framework of the existing capitalist system , which is associated with the approval of a rational-bureaucratic type of management.

Thus, according to Weber, the management headquarters should consist of officials who: are personally free and subordinate only to business official duty; have a stable service hierarchy and certain service competence; work by virtue of a contract, on the basis of free choice in accordance with special qualifications; are rewarded with cash salaries; consider their service as their main profession; foresee their career - "promotion" - either in accordance with seniority in service, or in accordance with ability, regardless of the judgment of the boss; are subject to strict official discipline and control. Of course, this is the ideal type of formally rational management, and not existing reality. It is based on an idealization of the real state of affairs, which determines only the vector of movement based on the fact that all managers and, therefore, the managed will perform only purposeful, rational actions.

In full accordance with his methodology, Weber analyzes legitimate types of domination, where the criterion for constructing ideal types is the motives of obedience, based on their presence in them of one or another degree of rationality. Thus, Weber identifies three legitimate types of domination and, accordingly, three types of motives for obedience: domination due to the belief in the obligatory nature of legal establishment and business competence; dominance can be determined simply by “mores,” the habit of certain behavior; finally, it can be based on the simple personal inclination of the subjects, i.e. have an affective base.
For Weber, the implementation of the idea of ​​political rationality is associated with varying degrees of participation of people in political life in general and political power in particular. He raises the question of what it is possible to be: a) “occasional” politicians (participation in the expression of will); b) “part-time politicians” (to be proxies, members of the board of party-political unions, state councils, etc. .), when politics “does not become the primary “matter of life” for them, either materially or ideally”; c) "professional politicians".

Weber's recommendations on what to do so that state power ceases to be the main source of well-being, and, consequently, self-reproducing corruption, are very valuable and useful. “At the expense of politics as a profession, the one who strives to make it a permanent source of income lives, “for” politics - the one who has a different goal. In order for someone in the economic sense to live “for” politics, under the dominance of the private property order, there must be some, if you like, very trivial premises: under normal conditions he should be independent of the income that politics can bring him.”
Weber does not reduce this problem to its economic aspect. A country in which political pluralism is being established faces difficulties caused by corruption of a party-political nature, when “party leaders award all kinds of positions in parties, newspapers, partnerships, health insurance funds, communities and states for faithful service. All party battles are not only battles for substantive goals, but above all also for patronage of positions."
As you can see, this problem is not specifically Russian, and, therefore, it is possible and necessary to use Weber’s sociological recommendations to neutralize it. To do this, we must recognize that bureaucracy, as a functional element of management, is an attribute of the state, separating itself from the dominance of one socio-political force. Orientation towards this ideal type would eliminate massive irrational changes in state institutions after the next elections, which is why society ultimately suffers great material and spiritual losses.

1. 
   Sociology of religion.

Weber's sociology of religion is subordinated to the study of the social action of people. M. Weber strives to identify the connection between religious and ethical principles and the behavior of individuals, especially their economic and political activity. In his opinion, people's behavior can only be accepted taking into account their ideas about the value of religious dogmas. Unlike Marxists, who raised the central question of the origin of religion and its essence, Weber focuses on the main types of meanings of religious principles that determine this or that human behavior and the presence of elements of rationality in it. At the same time, the criterion for typologizing the main types of “meaning” is again purposive-rational action. So, analyzing various shapes religious life, Weber, through empirical observations and comparisons, records where the ritualistic - cult principle predominates, where the mystical - contemplative, and where the ascetic - rational. This gave him the basis to first put forward a hypothesis and then conclude that there is a connection between religious beliefs and behavior (primarily economic) and that the religion in which the rationalistic principle predominates contributes to the formation of a rational social system.

According to Weber, the rationalistic principle was most clearly manifested in Confucianism in China, the Hindu religion and Protestantism. For Confucianism, Weber notes, the main thing is prosperous earthly life, lack of belief in an afterlife. Order and harmony are the basic principles of Confucianism, applicable to both man and state structure. However, Confucianism did not reject magic, which was recognized as having power over evil spirits. In this regard, Weber shows that Confucianism combines two principles

ethical-rational and irrational-magical. Due to this circumstance, a formally rational type of management and a rational type of economy similar to the Western one could not establish itself in China.

In India, rationalization took place within a ritualistic religion and within the framework of ideas about the transmigration of souls. However, according to Weber, ceremonial-ritual conservatism2 ultimately did not give rise to the development of goal-oriented rational actions of people and became an obstacle to the formal approval rational principles economics and political life.

Only the rationalism of Protestant ethics directly contributes to the rationalization of economic life, initiating in people the desire for profit and rational labor discipline, which is expressed in Weber’s famous thesis about the “adequacy of the spirit of capitalism and the spirit of Protestantism.” He sets out the essence of Protestantism using the text of the Westminster Confession of 1647.

Analyzing the specific activities of Protestant sects, Weber emphasizes that they consider tireless activity within the framework of their profession as the best means for gaining inner confidence in salvation. In addition, Weber notes, sooner or later every believer had to face the same question, pushing everything else into the background: am I chosen and how can I verify my chosenness? The Protestant Church responds to it in the same vein: namely, careful, constant work in the worldly professional activity"gives confidence in one's chosenness." Finally, Weber points out that many of the requirements of the Protestant ethic correspond to certain imperatives of the emerging spirit of capitalism: to work tirelessly to obtain

arrived and follow ascetic behavior. This is precisely a necessary condition for capitalist development, which involves the use of profits for constant reinvestment, for the further reproduction of the means of production, etc. In a word, profit is important not to enjoy the delights of life, but to satisfy the need to reproduce more and more.

All this, according to Weber, allows us to draw a general conclusion that a person’s behavior depends on his worldview, and the interest that everyone experiences in a particular activity is determined by the value system that a person is guided by.

Conclusion.

As you can see, Max Weber was a scientist with a very broad social outlook. He left a noticeable mark on the development of many aspects of social science, in particular sociology. Not being a supporter of the Marxist approach to solving problems of society, he nevertheless never distorted or simplified this teaching, emphasizing that “the analysis of social phenomena and cultural processes from the point of view of their economic conditionality and their influence was and, with caution, free from dogmatism, application - will remain a creative and fruitful scientific principle for the foreseeable future."

In all his studies, Weber pursued the idea of ​​rationality as a defining feature of modern European culture. Rationality is opposed to traditional and charismatic ways of organizing social relations. Weber's central problem is the connection between the economic life of society, the material and ideological interests of various social groups and religious consciousness. Weber viewed personality as the basis of sociological analysis. He believed that such complex concepts, like capitalism, religion and the state, can only be understood on the basis of an analysis of the behavior of individuals. By obtaining reliable knowledge about individual behavior in a social context, the researcher can better understand social behavior different human communities. While studying religion, Weber identified the relationship between social organization and religious values. According to Weber, religious values ​​can be a powerful force influencing social change. In political sociology, Weber paid attention to the conflict of interests of various factions of the ruling class; The main conflict in the political life of a modern state, according to Weber, is the struggle between political parties and the bureaucratic apparatus.

The ideas of Max Weber are very fashionable today for modern sociological thought in the West. They are experiencing a kind of renaissance, rebirth. This indicates that Max Weber was an outstanding scientist. His social ideas, obviously, were of a leading nature, if today they are so in demand by Western sociology as a science about society and the laws of its development.

Annex 1.

Basic principles of M. Weber's theory

Appendix 2.

Fig.1 Max Weber among his students.

Fig. 2 “The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism”, first edition

Bibliography.

1. Sociology: Textbook for universities / Edited by prof. V.N.Lavrinenko.-3rd ed., revised. and additional - M.: UNITY-DANA, 2005.-448 p.
2. Sociology: Textbook for universities / V.N. Lavrinenko, N.A. Nartov, O.A. Shabanova, G.S. Lukashova; Edited by Prof. V.N. Lavrinenko - 2nd ed., revised. and additional - M: UNITY-DANA, 2000.-407 p.
3. Website http://www.krotov.info
4. Website http://www.lib.socio.msu.ru
5. Website http:// www.gumer.info

6. Kravchenko A.I. Sociology: General course: Textbook for universities. ¶

M.: PERSE; Logos, 2002. 640 p.

7. Volkov Yu.G., Mostovaya I.V. Sociology textbook for universities / Ed.

Prof. V.I. Dobrenkova. M.: Gardariki, 2002. 432 p.

8. Website http://www.lib.socio.msu.ru

9. Kravchenko A.I. Fundamentals of Sociology. Textbook village M.: Academic. project,

2000

1. Lynx Yu.I., Stepanov V.E. Sociology. Textbook. M.: Dashkov i K, 2003. Rec.
2. Frolov S.S. Sociology. Textbook. M.: Gardariki, 2002. Rec.

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MAXWEBER:BIOGRAPHY,BASICIDEAS

sociologist weber social

EmAndlMaximiliAnINeber(Max Wember German. Max Weber; (April 21, 1864 - June 14, 1920) - German sociologist, historian and economist. Older brother of Alfred Weber.

In 1892-1894, privatdozent, and then extraordinary professor in Berlin, in 1894-1896 - professor of national economics at Freiburg, from 1896 - at Heidelberg, from 1919 - at University of Munich. One of the founders of the German Sociological Society (1909). Since 1918, professor of national economics in Vienna. In 1919 - advisor to the German delegation at the Versailles negotiations.

Weber made significant contributions to such areas of social knowledge as general sociology, methodology of social cognition, political sociology, sociology of law, sociology of religion, economic sociology, and theory of capitalism. Weber called his concept “understanding sociology.” Sociology analyzes social action and tries to explain its cause. Understanding means knowing a social action through its subjectively implied meaning, that is, the meaning that the subject himself puts into this action. Therefore, sociology reflects the entire diversity of ideas and worldviews that regulate human activity, that is, the entire diversity of human culture.

Unlike his contemporaries, Weber did not seek to build sociology on the model of the natural sciences, attributing it to the humanities or, in his terms, to the cultural sciences, which, both in methodology and in subject matter, constitute an autonomous field of knowledge. The main categories of understanding sociology are behavior, action and social action. Behavior is the most general category of activity, which becomes an action if the actor associates a subjective meaning with it. We can talk about social action when the action is correlated with the actions of other people and is oriented towards them. Combinations of social actions form “meaning connections”, on the basis of which social relations and institutions are formed. The result of understanding according to Weber is a hypothesis high degree probability, which must then be confirmed by objective scientific methods.

Weber identifies four types of social action:

1. purposive - when objects or people are interpreted as means to achieve their own rational goals;

2. value-rational - determined by a conscious belief in the value of a certain action, regardless of its success;

3. affective - determined by emotions;

4. traditional - determined by tradition or habit

According to Weber, a social relationship is a system of social actions; social relationships include such concepts as struggle, love, friendship, competition, exchange, etc. A social relationship, perceived by an individual as obligatory, acquires the status of a legitimate social order. In accordance with the types of social actions, four types of legal (legitimate) order are distinguished: traditional, affective, value-rational and legal.

Weber's method of sociology is determined, in addition to the concept of understanding, by the doctrine of the ideal type, as well as the postulate of freedom from value judgments. According to Weber, the ideal type captures the “cultural meaning” of a particular phenomenon, and the ideal type becomes a heuristic hypothesis capable of organizing the diversity of historical material without reference to some predetermined scheme.

Regarding the principle of freedom from value judgments, Weber distinguishes two problems: the problem of freedom from value judgments in the strict sense and the problem of the relationship between cognition and value. In the first case, it is necessary to strictly distinguish between established facts and their assessment from the ideological position of the researcher. In the second, we are talking about the theoretical problem of analyzing the connection of any knowledge with the values ​​of the knower, i.e. the problem of the interdependence of science and the cultural context.

Weber puts forward the concept of “cognitive interest,” which determines the choice and method of studying an empirical object in each specific case, and the concept of “value idea,” which is determined by a specific way of seeing the world in a given cultural context. In the “sciences of culture” this problem acquires special significance, because in this case values ​​act as a necessary condition for the possibility of the existence of such sciences: we, existing in a certain culture, cannot study the world without evaluating it and giving it meaning. In this case, therefore, we are not talking about the subjective predilections of this or that scientist, but first of all about the “spirit of the times” of a particular culture: it is he who plays a key role in the formation of “value ideas.”

These theoretical postulates allow Weber to interpret the sociology of economics in a “cultural” key. Weber identifies two ideal-typical organizations of economic behavior: traditional and goal-oriented. The first has existed since ancient times, the second has developed in modern times. Overcoming traditionalism is associated with the development of a modern rational capitalist economy, which presupposes the existence of certain types of social relations and certain forms of social order.

Analyzing these forms, Weber comes to two conclusions: he describes the ideal type of capitalism as the triumph of rationality in all spheres of economic life, and such development cannot be explained solely by economic reasons. In the latter case, Weber polemicizes with Marxism. In his work “The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism,” Weber tries to explain the genesis of modern capitalism by connecting this problem with the sociology of religion, in particular Protestantism. He sees a connection between the ethical code of Protestant faiths and the spirit of a capitalist economy based on the ideal of the rationalist entrepreneur. In Protestantism, in contrast to Catholicism, the emphasis is not on the study of dogma, but on moral practice, expressed in the worldly service of a person, in the fulfillment of his worldly duty. This is what Weber called “secular asceticism.” The parallels between the Protestant emphasis on secular service and the ideal of capitalist rationality allowed Weber to connect the Reformation and the emergence of capitalism: Protestantism stimulated the emergence of forms of behavior specific to capitalism in everyday life and economic life. The minimalization of dogma and ritual, the rationalization of life in Protestantism according to Weber became part of the process of “disenchantment of the world”, begun by the Hebrew prophets and ancient Greek scientists and reaching its culmination in the modern capitalist world. This process is associated with the liberation of a person from magical superstitions, the autonomy of the individual, belief in scientific progress and rational cognition.

In the sociology of power, Weber also follows his own method. In accordance with it, three types of legitimation of power (domination) are distinguished:

1) rational, based on faith in the legality of existing orders and the legal right of those in power to give orders;

2) traditional, based on belief in the sanctity of traditions and the right to rule of those who received power in accordance with this tradition;

3) charismatic, based on belief in supernatural holiness, heroism or some other dignity of the ruler and his power.

In this context, Weber's theory of rational bureaucracy associated with the first type of power is formulated.

In his analysis of democracy, Weber formulates the presence of two types of this type of government: “plebescite leader democracy” and various forms of “leaderless democracy”, the goal of which is to minimize direct forms of domination of man over man through the development of rational forms of representation, collegiality and separation of powers.

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Sociological theories of M. Weber

Brief biography and characteristics scientific works M. Weber - anti-positivist sociologist. Fundamentals of the non-classical type of scientific sociology. The concept of social action as the core of M. Weber's creativity. Basic principles of rationalization of public life.

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M. Weber: the concept of social action and its types

general characteristics main methodological principles sociology of Max Weber, their significance for vocational training sociologist. The concept and essence of social action as a subject of sociology. Classification of social actions according to M. Weber.

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Sociology of Max Weber

Max Weber's methodology of sociological knowledge. The essence of the theory of “social action”. Bureaucracy as a pure type of legal domination. The direction of M. Weber's works, his concepts. The place of sociologist’s creativity in the development of management thought.

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The outstanding role of M. Weber in the development of sociology at the end of the last and beginning of this century. The influence of his teachings on social theory, research and the discipline. The idea of ​​“understanding” sociology. Social action concept. Rationalization of public life.

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M. Weber's theory of social action and its methodological significance for the subsequent development of sociology

Analysis of the main sociological views of M. Weber. The specific nature of the sociological vision of social realities and their purposeful rationality. Features of goal-rational, value-rational, affective and traditional social action.

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“Understanding” sociology of M. Weber

Max Weber as a German sociologist, short essay his life and professional activities. The essence and content of “understanding” sociology, its distinctive features. Ideological and theoretical prerequisites for the formation of the Weberian interpretative paradigm.

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Sociology of M. Weber

Max Weber is one of the founders of the sociological style of thinking. His socio-political views and theoretical positions. Methodological and epistemological principles of sociology, the concept of social action. Sociology of power and religion.

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Classical Western sociology of the 19th century

The theme of social solidarity is a major theme in Durkheim's sociology. Durkheim's place in the history of sociology. Sociological concept Weber. Subject and methods of “understanding sociology”. Weber and modern society. Marxist sociology and its destinies.

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Structure and functions of sociology

Sociology as scientific direction knowledge, subject and methods of its study, objects and subjects, main functions. The social structure of society and its elements, types and distinctive features. The essence and main provisions of the understanding sociology of M. Weber.

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Sociology of M. Weber. Social action concept

Basic principles of the methodology of sociological science of one of the most influential theorists M. Weber. Social action as a subject of sociology, the study of individual behavior. Weber's theory of rationalization in sociological interpretations of politics and religion.

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Understanding Sociology": Max Weber

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Max Weber

Max Weber (1864-1920) - German sociologist, historian, economist and lawyer. In his methodology, he distinguished between experimental knowledge and values; developed the concept of “understanding”, according to which social action is explained through the interpretation of individual motives, and the theory of ideal types - abstract and arbitrary mental constructions of the historical process. In the origin of Western European capitalism, Protestantism played a decisive role.

Used information from notes to the book: Comte-Sponville Andre. Philosophical Dictionary / Transl. from fr. E.V. Golovina. – M., 2012.

Weber Max (1864-1920) - German sociologist who developed issues of the methodology of social cognition, cultural studies, and economics. Big influence Bourgeois social science was influenced by his research on the sociology of religion and the historical role of Protestantism. Weber's social and philosophical concept was created as an alternative to the materialistic understanding of history. He believed that economics is not the basis of social life; on the contrary, forms of economic activity depend on cultural, primarily religious and ethical, factors. A fruitful scientific study of society, according to Weber, is based on the so-called. ideal types, which are not a generalization of facts or a description of reality, but are rooted in the prevailing values ​​in society and represent hypothetical models that allow us to organize empirical material. “Capitalism” is such a characteristic model, the meaning of which is given by the concept of the spirit of capitalism, expressed in the desire for economic efficiency, profit, and rational organization of social life. In his works “Protestant Ethics and the Spirit of Capitalism” (1904-1905), “Economic Ethics of World Religions” (1916-1919) and others, Weber substantiates the idea that Protestantism played a decisive role in the practical establishment of these features. Weber sees his historical merit in the following: 1) the Calvinist understanding of predestination to the salvation of the elect made business success a symptom of chosenness and thereby an effective incentive for entrepreneurial activity; 2) Protestantism sanctioned the rationalization of production and the bourgeois political and legal order; 3) Protestant (or “Puritan” work ethic) established in social practice such typically bourgeois norms and values ​​as frugality, hard work, prudence, honesty in business relations, and reverent attitude towards property. Of all the world religions, Protestantism was most consistent with the spirit of capitalism, with which Weber associates rapid cultural and economic progress Western Europe and the USA. In Weber's concept, religion acquired the character of an autonomous and decisive factor in historical development.

Protestantism. [Atheist's Dictionary]. Under general ed. L.N. Mitrokhina. M., 1990, p. 66-67.

Other biographical materials:

Frolov I.T. Weber from a Marxist point of view ( Philosophical Dictionary. Ed. I.T. Frolova. M., 1991).

Devyatkova R.P. Soviet characteristics of personality and creativity ( Great Soviet Encyclopedia).

Furs V.N. German sociologist, philosopher and historian ( The latest philosophical dictionary. Comp. Gritsanov A.A. Minsk, 1998).

Gutner G.B. ...and economist ( New philosophical encyclopedia. In four volumes. / Institute of Philosophy RAS. Scientific ed. advice: V.S. Stepin, A.A. Guseinov, G.Yu. Semigin. M., Mysl, 2010).

Kirilenko G.G., Shevtsov E.V. Had an impact on the entire complex of social humanities in the 20th century ( Kirilenko G.G., Shevtsov E.V. Brief philosophical dictionary. M. 2010).

Mikhailova E.M. German political philosopher ( Political thought of modern times. Personalities, ideas, concepts: A brief reference / Comp. Mikhailova E.M. – Cheboksary: ​​CHKI RUK, 2010).

Rostislavleva N.V. He is also the founder of the sociology of music ( Russian historical encyclopedia. T. 3. M., 2015).

Danilov A.I. Weber's views, permeated with an apology for the capitalist system ( Soviet historical encyclopedia. In 16 volumes. - M.: Soviet Encyclopedia. 1973-1982. Volume 3. WASHINGTON - VYACHKO. 1963).

Zdravomyslov A.G. In all his studies, Weber pursued the idea of ​​rationality as a defining feature of modern European culture ( Philosophical encyclopedic Dictionary. - M.: Soviet Encyclopedia. Ch. editor: L. F. Ilyichev, P. N. Fedoseev, S. M. Kovalev, V. G. Panov. 1983).

Akmalova A., Kapitsyn V.M., Mironov A.V., Mokshin V.K. The center of Weber’s scientific research doctrine is the concept of the “ideal type” ( A. Akmalova, V. M. Kapitsyn, A.

Max Weber's Understanding Sociology

V. Mironov, V. K. Mokshin. Dictionary-reference book on sociology. Educational edition. 2011).

One of the founders of the German Sociological Society ( Modern Western philosophy.

Encyclopedic Dictionary / Under. ed. O. Heffe, V.S. Malakhova, V.P. Filatov, with the participation of T.A. Dmitrieva. M., 2009).

Nikisch about Max Weber ( Ernst Nikisch. The life I dared. Meetings and events. St. Petersburg, 2012).

Read further:

Weber Max. Protestant ethics and the spirit of capitalism. (Weber M. Selected works. M., 1990).

Essays:

History of the economy, P., 1923;

Agrarian history ancient world, M...

Agrarian history of the ancient world. M., 1923;

City. Pg., 1923; History of the economy. Pg., 1923;

Selected works. M., 1990;

Favorites. The image of society. M., 1994;

Favorites political works. M., 2002;

About Russia. M., 2006;

Gesammelte Aufsatze zur Religionssoziologie. Bd, I-III, Tubingen, 1920-1921;

Wirtschaft und Gesellsehaft. Tubingen, 1921;

Wirtschaft und Gesellschaft, Tubingen, 1956;

Gesammelte Aufsatze zur Wissenschaflslehre, Tubingen, 1922;

Gesammelte Aufsatze zur Soziologie und Sozialpolitik, Tubingen. 1924.

Gesammelte Aufsatze zur Religions-soziologie, Bd 1 - 3, Tubingen, 1920 - 21;

Gesammelte politische Schriften, Tubingen, 1958; in Russian translation - City, P., 1923;

Literature:

Gaidenko P.P., Davydov Yu.N. History and rationality. Sociology of Max Weber and the Weberian Renaissance. M., 1991;

Danilov A.I., Problems of agrarian history of the early Middle Ages in German historiography of the late 19th - early 20th centuries, M., 1958, p. 96 - 105;

Kon I. S., Positivism in sociology, Leningrad, 1964, ch. 5;

Bendix R. Max Weber. An intellectual portrait, N. Y., 1960.

Bendix R. The Image of Society in Max Weber // Weber M. Selected. The image of society. M., 1994;

Neusykhin A.I. “Empirical sociology” by Max Weber and the logic of historical science // Ibid.;

Neusykhin A.I. Sociological study of Max Weber about the city // Ibid.;

Jaspers K. Speech in memory of M. Weber // Culturology. XX century M., 1995;

Davydov Yu.N. Max Weber and modern theoretical sociology. M., 1998;

The life and work of Max Weber. M., 2007.

Max Weber(1864–1920) - an outstanding German sociologist, economist, historian, creator of “understanding” sociology and the theory of social action. Weber outlined his scientific views in the works “Protestant Ethics and the Spirit of Capitalism”, “Basic Sociological Concepts”, “On Some Categories of Understanding Sociology”, “Economic Ethics of World Religions”, etc.

Weber called his sociology “understanding,” since it is designed to reveal the meaning of people’s behavior, to “understand” and “causally explain” their social actions. It was the social action of the individual that Weber identified as the subject of sociology. Only on the basis of an analysis of the social actions of individuals, he emphasized, can such complex concepts as “society”, “state”, “people”, etc. be deeply understood.

While developing the theory of social action, Weber used the concept of “ideal type”, which he introduced, which became central to his methodology. “Ideal type” is a mental, logical construct with the help of which a researcher must study phenomena (by determining the degree of deviation of these phenomena from a given “ideal type”).

Weber identified four “ideal types” of social action: goal-rational, value-rational, traditional and affective:

? purposeful action- an action that presupposes a clear awareness of the goal, correlated with rationally meaningful means of achieving it. Weber noted that an individual whose behavior is goal-oriented, means-oriented and takes into account possible side effects acts purposefully. A typical example of such an action is the economic behavior of an entrepreneur;

? value-rational action– an action focused on certain values ​​(moral, religious, aesthetic, etc.) accepted by the individual. As Weber noted, the individual acts value-rationally who, regardless of possible consequences, acts in accordance with his convictions and does what duty, dignity, religious precepts, etc. require of him;

? traditional action- an action formed on the basis of imitation of certain social patterns of behavior, enshrined in cultural tradition and not subject to critical evaluation. Traditional action is dictated by habits, customs, and beliefs. The significance of this type of action is determined by what relates to it most of everyday behavior of people, in which habits play an important role;

? affective action- an action that is determined by the emotional state of the individual. The main thing in such an action is the desire for immediate satisfaction of passion, thirst for revenge, attraction, etc. Such an action is “on the border” of meaningful human behavior.

Weber believed that by the degree of distribution of one or another type of social action one can judge the nature and level of development of the entire society. Thus, he noted that in archaic, primitive societies, affective and traditional actions predominate, and in industrial, highly organized societies, value-rational and, especially, goal-oriented actions predominate.

The entire historical process was presented to Weber as a growing rationalization of all aspects of social life. In his interpretation, this is the result of the influence of several phenomena that carried a rational principle, namely, ancient science, especially mathematics, supplemented in the Renaissance with experiment and technology; rational Roman law, which received its further development on European soil; a rational way of farming that arose through the separation of labor from the means of production.

The most consistent embodiment of the principle of rationality, according to Weber, is found in a rule of law state, the functioning of which is based on the rational interaction of citizens and strict adherence to the rule of law.

The study of rationality as the leading tendency of Western European capitalism became the main theme of Weber’s work “The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism.” In it, Weber showed that the emergence of capitalism in Europe had not only socio-economic, but also spiritual prerequisites. A particularly important role was played by the Protestant religious ethic, the basic principles of which (hard work, frugality, honesty, prudence, etc.) largely contributed to the development of entrepreneurship and the “spirit of capitalism.”

Weber's contribution to the development of problems of political sociology, in particular the typification of political domination, is significant.

§ 7. Max Weber, his “understanding sociology” and theory of social action

Based on his concept of social action, he identified three types of legitimate (recognized) domination: legal, traditional and charismatic.

The first type, which corresponds to purposive-rational action, presupposes submission to the law, and not to the individual; the second type, based on traditional action, is determined by customs, traditions, “the habit of certain behavior”; the third type is based on belief in an extraordinary gift (charisma - from the Greek “divine gift”) of the bearer of power and is associated with affective actions.

Weber’s idea of ​​plebiscitary democracy, which gives the opportunity for popular election, also deserves attention. political leader(president), who could, on behalf of the people, direct the activities of the bureaucratic state apparatus in the interests of the masses.

An important place in Weber's scientific work is occupied by the sociology of religion, the main task of which he saw in identifying the meaning of religious actions. An analysis of world religions led the researcher to the conclusion that there is a certain relationship between the prevailing religious morality in society and economic behavior, and religious and ethical attitudes influence the nature and methods of economic activity.

Weber made a major contribution to the development of almost all branches of sociological knowledge. His ideas and methodological principles related to the “understanding” of social action, the construction of “ideal types,” and the comparative characteristics of different systems had a great impact on the development of theoretical thought and stimulated the emergence of new directions in world sociology of the 20th century.

Understanding sociology of Max Weber.

Max Weber (1864-1920) – German economist, historian and sociologist. Weber called his concept " understanding sociology" Sociology analyzes social action and tries to explain its cause. The concept of “understanding sociology”— attempts to correlate rational and emotional principles at the scientific level. Understanding means cognition of a social action through its subjectively implied meaning, that is, the meaning that the subject himself puts into this action. The result of understanding According to Weber, a hypothesis has a high degree of probability, which must then be confirmed by objective scientific methods.

Main categories of understanding sociology– behavior, action and social action. Behavior is the most general category of activity, which becomes an action if the actor associates a subjective meaning with it. Action an understandable relationship to “objects” is always called.

Social action– a key concept in Weber’s sociology. Criteria for social action: 1) social action is endowed with meaning; directed somewhere; 2) directed at other people; on their expected behavior.

Typology of social actions(more ideal types.

Max Weber: basic ideas

According to Weber, the ideal type captures the “cultural meaning” of a particular phenomenon):

1)purposeful action– expectation of a certain behavior of objects of the external world and other people and the use of this expectation as “conditions” or “means” to achieve one’s rationally set and thoughtful goal (rationally in relation to the goal and the means);

2)value-rational– based on the belief in the unconditional value of a certain behavior regardless of its result (rational according to the goals set);

3)affective– determined by the individual’s emotional state or affects (emotions);

4)traditional– determined by tradition or habit (habit).

Key – rationalization process– transition to modern society; in modern society the value-rational type dominates, and in pre-modern society the goal-rational and traditional type dominates).

2 motors of this process:

1)bureaucracy.

Bureaucracy is inseparable from the emergence of the state and vice versa.

2)capitalism. Capitalism always exists - Weber believes so. Archaic and modern types of capitalism - commercial (the things that are sold do not produce - non-productive capitalism) and production (rationally organized; market-oriented).

The principle of freedom from value judgments– the requirement to clearly separate the statement of facts from their assessment as worthy of blame or approval, desirable or undesirable. Regarding the principle of freedom from value judgments, Weber distinguishes between two problems: the problem of freedom from value judgments in the strict sense and the problem of the relationship between knowledge and value. In the first case, it is necessary to strictly distinguish between established facts and their assessment from the ideological position of the researcher. In the second, we are talking about the theoretical problem of analyzing the connection of any knowledge with the values ​​of the knower, i.e. the problem of the interdependence of science and the cultural context. Weber puts forward the concept " cognitive interest”, which determines the choice and method of studying an empirical object in each specific case, and the concept of a “value idea”, which is determined by a specific way of seeing the world in a given cultural context.

In the sociology of power, Weber also follows his own method.

In accordance with it, it is allocated three types of legitimation of power (domination):

1) rational, based on faith in the legality of existing orders and the legal right of those in power to give orders;

2) traditional, based on the belief in the sanctity of tradition and the right to rule of those who received power in accordance with this tradition;

3) charismatic, based on belief in supernatural holiness, heroism, genius. or some other dignity of the ruler and his power that is not subject to precise definition or clear explanation.

Sociology of E. Durkheim.

Emile Durkheim(1858 - 1917) - French sociologist and philosopher, founder of the French sociological school and structural-functional analysis, one of the founders of sociology as an independent science. Founder of university sociology.

School motto D. – the requirement to consider social facts as things. The subject of sociology according to Durkheim are social facts. Social fact- any course of action, sharply defined or not, but capable of exerting external coercion on an individual, or otherwise: widespread throughout a given society, but at the same time having its own existence, independent of its individual manifestations. Social facts must be considered as things.

Characteristics of a social fact:

1) external in relation to individuals

2) is of a compulsory nature.

In order for a social fact to arise, it is necessary that at least several individuals combine their actions and that this combination gives rise to some new result. Recognition of the objective reality of social facts is the central point of the sociological method according to D. Social facts are divided in turn to facts of collective consciousness(ideas, feelings, legends, beliefs, traditions) and morphological facts, ensuring order and communication between individuals: population size and density, housing form, geographical position etc.

e. Facts of collective consciousness include the following classes of phenomena: general ideas and feelings, moral maxims and beliefs, moral norms and legal codes of conduct, economic motives of people and interests of people.

The problem of social solidarity- one of the central problems in Durkheim's works. Social solidarity- the main force that cements and unites society, creating a social whole. It arises as a logical consequence of the social division of labor, that is, the socialization and distribution of people by profession.

2 types of social solidarity:

1) mechanical(pre-industrial society), or solidarity based on similar characteristics, when all individuals perform the same functions and do not have individual traits.

2) organic(part of the pre-industrial and the entire industrial society), when people are increasingly different from each other and begin to complement each other, by analogy with the interdependence and complementarity of body parts in the body.

Division of labor D. understood as a professional specialization. It plays the role that was once played by the general consciousness; it mainly holds together social aggregates of higher types. Division of labor is a sign of a highly developed society. The reason for the division of labor D. believed that population growth determined the intensity of social life. As the population grows, the struggle for existence also increases; in these conditions, the division of labor is the only means of preserving and maintaining a given society.

Empirical research– there is a social fact that can be explained sociologically. Sociology– explanation of social facts sociologically.

A social fact requiring a social explanation - suicide. The phenomenon of suicide is not individual, according to D., according to the concept put forward by D., suicide rate it is a function of several social variables: relationships in religious, family, political, national and other groups. He identified 4 types of suicides:

1)egoistic– is created by reasons that cause the individual to distance himself from society, which ceases to influence him in a regulating way

2) altruistic- occurs when personal interests are completely absorbed by social ones, when the integration of the group is so great that the individual ceases to exist as an independent unit.

3) anomic– occurs primarily during major social upheavals, economic crises, when the individual loses the ability to adapt to social transformation, new social demands and loses touch with society. D. introduces the concept of anomie - the collapse of the social fabric; lack of social norms; regulatory vacuum. Anomia is stress for an individual. Thus, weakening or absence of public regulation, disorderly, unsettled social activity underlies anomic suicide.

4) fatalistic– arises as a result of increased control of the group over the individual.

The most valuable feature of Durkheim's analysis of suicide is revealing the essence of this phenomenon as generated by the crisis state of society.

Durkheim believed religion social phenomenon. He believed that religious phenomena could only arise in society. The scientist himself was an agnostic. Durkheim refused to consider religion a simple product of the delusion of the human mind or self-deception. In his opinion , religion- this is a sphere of human activity where, when speaking about gods, they mean social reality.

10. Sociology of G. Simmel.

Georg Simmel(1858-1918) - German philosopher and sociologist, one of the main representatives of the late “philosophy of life”. He worked primarily on problems of philosophy of culture and sociology.

Sociology considered the geometry of the social world. Simmel's sociology: triangle of concepts.

"(society)"

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man(atom) culture

Sociology, according to Simmel, should study forms of socialization. The concept of "form" is of key importance in Simmel's works. There is no single form. Simmel has no society. Z.'s place in society is socialization. Pure (formal) sociology studies forms of socialization that exist in any of the historically known societies, relatively stable and repeating forms of interhuman interactions. Forms of social life- this is domination, subordination, rivalry, division of labor, the formation of parties, solidarity, etc. All these forms are reproduced, filled with corresponding content, in various types of groups and social organizations, such as the state, religious society, family, economic association, etc. D. Simmel believed that pure formal concepts have limited value, and the F. s. project itself. only then can it be realized when these identified pure forms of social life are filled with historical content. What is the principle of synthesizing “socialization” based on? Z. begins to consider this issue from the position of representing society in the form of a set of selves interacting with each other.

Sociology proceeds from the fact that the same form can be filled with different contents, just as the same content can appear in different forms. In its turn, forms of socialization even in the foreseeable future it will not be possible to decompose it into some simpler elements. Therefore, forms as such can only be associated with a limited range of phenomena. In other words, form as a phenomenon rarely exists in its pure form. Form is a category of cognition. Category is a tool for constructing the world.

Characteristic features of the form: 1) form compares several contents, thereby forming a totality 2) becoming a totality, these contents are separated from others 3) form organizes the compared contents.

According to Simmel, it is the form that helps overcome the fragmentation of parts and resists everything that does not have a form. Form and matter are opposed to each other.

Triple classification of social forms:

1) processes. Fashion is a process. An example of Simmel's analysis social process how forms of socialization can serve it fashion research. Fashion, writes Simmel, simultaneously implies both imitation and individualization. A person who follows fashion simultaneously distinguishes himself from others and asserts his belonging to a certain stratum or group. Fashion signals the possibility of individual achievement.

2) types. Types according to Z. are– rich man, poor man, adventurer, cynic, flirt, professional, amateur, “insider,” stranger, etc. Example - aristocrat. He values ​​his personal freedom and independence, outwardly remains calm, avoids professionalism, standardized work for the sake of earning money, and is a man of leisure.

3) development scenarios. They replace extrapolations and linear forecasts. When constructing development scenarios, precise analysis, intuition and sociological imagination are combined.

Z. considers modern socio-cultural development as a constant strengthening gap between forms and contents. Specifically this is expressed in intellectualization of society and development of the money economy.

Social content does not require its own, specifically sociological interpretation, since it is simultaneously the subject of other sciences. That's why sociology should deal formal aspects. Content becomes public only through forms of mutual influence or socialization.

« Formal sociology is an integral part of the general philosophical and cultural-philosophical concept. Its main concepts are “content"(historically determined goals, motives, motivations of human interactions) and "form" (universal method embodiment and implementation of historically changing contents). In the totality of interactions(form plus the content that “fills” it) society is realized. The task of “pure” sociology– study and classification of forms. The task of "philosophical» sociology – tracing the historical destinies of these forms in connection with their culturally examined content.

Examples:

Form– family life; content– experiences, moods.

Form– poor man; content- deprivation of something that everyone has due to the usual order of things.

Form- aristocrat; content- nobility of blood.

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Abstract by Irina Bosykh on the work of M. Weber “City”

Methods of scientific and philosophical knowledge: “understanding sociology” by M. Weber. The concept of “ideal type” and its general theoretical meaning. M. Weber's work "City".

“Understanding Sociology” by M. Weber. The concept of “ideal type” and its general theoretical meaning.

Weber's methodological guidelines:

1. he does not consider either society or other social groups to be subjects of action, since the latter are associated with a certain subjective meaning that only individuals possess.

2. since the actions of the latter are meaningful, sociology must be “understanding”, capable of revealing this meaning through interpretation.

The formation of Weber's views was influenced by the ideas of Dilthey, who put forward hermeneutics as a methodology for the sciences of spiritual activity.

Analysis of the process of formation of standard concepts is Weber’s most important contribution to the development of sociological methodology. The ideal type is a mental construct.

This process can best be illustrated For example theoretical analysis market economic system, which gives us an ideal picture of the economic processes taking place there. We assume that there is free competition in the market, each participant behaves in a rational manner, no one has an advantage over the other. It is clear that such conditions do not exist in the real market.

However, this ideal type of market makes it possible to determine how much a given specific market approaches or diverges from the ideal market. On this basis, it is possible to further identify its characteristics and causal connections between its elements. This method is used to study social, historical, cultural and humanitarian phenomena.

Weber writes: “in research, the ideal-typical concept is a means for making correct judgments about the causal reduction of elements of reality. The ideal type is not a hypothesis, it only indicates in which direction the formation of hypotheses should go.” By creating standard concepts and establishing general rules, sociology, according to Weber, like any generalizing science, is deprived of a certain completeness in comparison with concrete reality. Instead, it achieves the unambiguity of its concepts, and most importantly, it deeper reveals the meaning of social behavior and action, thanks to which it becomes understanding sociology.

M. Weber “City”

Both in the past and in the present, there was and is not a simple, unambiguous answer to the question of what is considered a city, what is its specific historical meaning, and does it have a stable function and program. There is some kind of convention in its definition. Usually, either a whole set of indicators is specified at once, or one decisive one is specified (number of population, functions, sectoral employment, etc.) and on their basis all settlements are divided into cities and non-cities - villages.

The problem of cities of different specific historical types - ancient, ancient, medieval feudal, modern (capitalist, socialist, colonial, Third World), post-modern, etc. - has long been the subject of scientific knowledge. At first, the city was studied as if incidentally, along with other phenomena and processes, to which general comprehensive works on history, economics, culture, geography, architecture, and art were devoted. And only from the end of the 19th century. the city becomes an independent and full-fledged object of research as a subject of historical process and action. Since the 1920s, the city has been a phenomenon of close and comprehensive knowledge of the emerging scientific discipline: urban sociology

Max Weber tried to give a number of generalizations and concepts for application to the study of significant problems and that is why he introduces into his methodology ideal type category. This is a logical simplification of tendencies inherent in complex reality, built on the basis of a one-sided point of view chosen by the sociologist. Weber insisted that scientific concepts cannot comprehend reality because it is infinite and too complex for the human mind to fully comprehend.

Any social phenomenon or the process is described and explained through deviation from the corresponding ideal type. Therefore, concepts are always established not as final, exhaustive, categorical assessments, but rather as a heuristic tool that helps to compare and measure reality for the purpose of further research and explanation. Thus, the ideal type is a tool for understanding reality.

In his book "City" Weber uses an ideal - typical method of analysis. But the uniqueness of this particular Weberian work lies in the fact that the method of analysis here is equally the comparative historical method. We can say that in “The City” it is not so much ideal types that are compared various phenomena, as much as these phenomena themselves, with ideal-typical concepts playing a predominantly orienting role. Weber looks for the general in the individual with an emphasis on finding common features various individual processes. I transferred the article to the table.

	city	not a city
	Closed settlement. The houses are closely adjacent to each other. This is not a determining factor.	One or several dwellings. Weber, Max The houses are closely adjacent to each other.
	Large number of inhabitants. There are cities of several hundred people. This is not a determining factor.	There are villages of several thousand people.
	This is a joint settlement before that alienby people's place of residence. There is no personal acquaintance with each other that is specific to a society of neighbors. Residents unite in various communities, workshops, guilds, and trade unions. Membership in board districts, city blocks, streets. Performing certain duties and receiving privileges for it.	Centuries-old kinship and family ties.
	Residents are engaged in a variety of crafts and trade.	Residents are engaged agriculture. But, there are “fishing villages” in Russia (Palekh, Fedoskino, Zhestovo, Khokhloma, Dymkovo) and Asia.
	There were cities that owned country lands, forest, had their own arable land and pastures. This is not a determining factor.	Ownership of land, forest, river, lake, pastures.
	Market in Europe (bazaar in the East), where regular exchange of goods takes place, where everyday economic needs are met. Oversight of the market gradually passed from the lord to the city councils.	Periodic fairs and markets for overseas goods, seasonal after the harvest.
	Availability of a fortress in ancient, European, eastern and ancient Egyptian cities. This feature was absent in Japan. Sparta was proud of its lack of walls. Athens did not immediately acquire walls. This is not a determining factor.	In China, all villages were surrounded by walls. Slavic villages had a high palisade with one entrance, and cattle were herded into the center of the village at night.
	High shaft, deep ditch. East Jordan, in Germany. This is not a determining factor.	Some villages had a rampart and a ditch.
	Administrative center separated from the inhabitants (in China, the Forbidden City). There is a right and a court. Complex stratification of urban residents by class. Official authority: collegial board governor post of observant of orthodox rites sheriff, at the same time the head of the city nobility workshops of butchers, grain traders, artisans, etc. city ​​neighborhoods with their elders	The administrative center (village headman) was not separated from the residents; all issues were resolved by the community. Oikos and “princely cities” are equated to country estates. Although these centers satisfied economic and political needs. All this was for the needs of one person and his family. Oikos - in antiquity and the early Middle Ages, a large estate based on subsistence farming, not associated with the market.
	Permanent stay of a military man garrison. The military-political market as a place of military training and recruitment of troops.	Residents defended themselves.
	Taxation for craft and trade. A city at the intersection of a trade route, various duties (military, as a messenger). This is not a determining factor. Freedom from taxes and duties from outside the city.	In village communities there was forced crop rotation, regulated use of pastures, a ban on the removal of straw, and a ban on the use of forests.
	Square central. It could also be a place for tournaments and horse races. Located in front of the Municipal Palace. This is not a determining factor.	In the village there is a central street or square (depending on how the houses are located).
	Government institutions, educational establishments, library, courthouse, prison, administrative buildings.	Public outbuildings. Mill. Barn.
	Problem unemployment in the field of his craft since antiquity and its solution through the construction of government buildings, as Pericles did. This is not a determining factor.	There is unemployment. Landless peasants went to the city to earn money. The money earned was paid towards the corvée dues.
	Slave trade, Slave work. This is not a determining factor.
	Money economy.	Natural economy.
	The division of urban territory into blocks and districts existed in ancient times, in the Middle Ages, in the cities of the East and Asia.

Type "city of producers" - there are factories, manufactories and home industry enterprises, goods are sent to other regions.

Type "agricultural city" — a wide segment of the population satisfies its need for food on its own farm, and sells the surplus on the market. The larger the city, the smaller land plot, limited use of pasture and forest. A number of medieval cities in Germany and other countries had land and forest land. In antiquity they even had arable land. A full citizen of antiquity was a city resident who owned land.

Type "city of consumers" - large consumers receive rents, income from their business enterprises, interest from valuable papers and dividends or bonuses.

Type "political city" - in this part of the city live the nobility, king, nobles, lords. A separate class of townspeople with privileges.

Type "economic city" — City-city, shopping districts, usury, banks, pawnshops, transactions with securities are carried out.

Type "garrison city" - as residents, whose political and legal status was determined by its nature by the obligation to preserve and guard the fortress.

The transition from “agricultural city” to “consumer city”, “producer city” or “economic city” was fluid. The city itself could be divided into parts according to types, and not everywhere they are delimited territorially. More often than not, one type overlaps another. In South India, the city of the nobility was adjacent to the economic city.

Type of medieval western city. And the type of Asian and Eastern city.

The medieval city was not only an economic center of trade and craft, politically a fortress and the location of a garrison, administratively a judicial district, but also a sworn brotherhood, a sworn commune and was considered in the legal sense a corporation. It was first of all a union, constituted or understood as a brotherhood, in which there always exists a corresponding religious symbol: the cult of the urban union of burghers, the god of the city or the city saint.

This is the complete opposite of an Asian city. But there is something in common with Asian and eastern city: market, trade and craft center, fortress, merchant guilds and artisan workshops. The general difference between a medieval city and an Asian one is the absence of a magical-animistic connection of free townspeople by castes and clans with their taboos. In Asian cities, ancestor worship and caste restrictions prevented unification.

Type of ancient city.

A typical ancient city with a tribal system. Always a seaside city, there was no city that was located more than one day's march from the coast. The center of power of noble families was the city. The possessions of the nobility consisted, first of all, of land. The needs were met by the duties of slaves. The political and economic cities of the country are large landowners, creditors of merchants and lenders of peasants. The power of the city nobility is based on city income. The ancient city was originally a settlement of a community of warriors. The citizen was first and foremost a soldier. In antiquity, the inadmissibility of entrepreneurship among noble families was self-evident; they only provided capital in very large quantities. “Honorary loafer”, i.e. leading a knightly lifestyle. Large bankers and merchants did not belong to noble families of knights. The coexistence of slave and free labor excluded the possibility of the emergence of guilds in antiquity.

A type of plebeian city.

In Italian cities the appearance of the popolo layer. Economically, the popolo consisted of entrepreneurs and artisans. In Italy, the concept of popolo was not only economic, but also political; being a distinct political community within a commune with its own officials, its own finances and military forces, it was a state within a state, the first consciously illegitimate and revolutionary political union. The reason for this phenomenon in Italy was the great development of economic and political means of domination of the urban nobility leading a knightly lifestyle. The opposing popolo union was based on the fraternity of the trade unions.

Max Weber (1864-1920) “Protestant ethic and the spirit of capitalism”, “Economy and Society”. Weber is sometimes called the capitalist Marx because he developed a sociology of human economic behavior. V.'s initial thesis is the thesis that a concrete historical statement of reality (social facts) cannot give us knowledge about it. The main instrument of cognition for V. is the so-called. - ideal types - theoretical categories. They are designed to correlate with reality and so on. serve as a research tool. Examples of I.T. are bureaucracy, religion, capitalism, etc. At the same time, social types precede social action and orient it in a certain way. V. identified four types of social action: 1) goal-rational 2) value-rational 3) traditional 4) affective
Based on his method, V. gave an interpretation of the functioning of his contemporary society, which he identified with the cultural and historical framework of “Western civilization.” By participating in production, an individual demonstrates his personal abilities and competence and plays a role depending on these qualities. A variety of roles adds up to a system social institutions, which at a certain stage acquire their own logic of being, independent of the will of the individuals composing them, becoming superpersonal subjects of social action and developing systems of norms and rules, impose them on individuals, control and subjugate the latter. The institutions themselves are evolving into a super-organization, the goals of which no longer coincide with the goals of individuals or with the goals of society as a whole.
In his work “Protestant Ethics and the Spirit of Capitalism,” V. analyzed the influence of Protestant ethics (he himself considered it goal-oriented) on the formation and development of capitalism, revealing the evolution of the ascetic principles of Protestantism to the functioning of the capitalist system as a whole.

Sociological concept of M. Weber(1864-1920)

The sociological theory of M. Weber arose in the wake of an anti-positivist reaction, whose representatives defended the specifics of social cognition, which they saw in the need to “understand human actions,” the use of the ideographic method and reference to values.

According to M. Weber, sociology should take into account the subjective aspects of socio-historical phenomena, i.e. interests, needs and goals of human activity, but at the same time it cannot ignore the inherent requirements of scientific methodology for objectivity and empirical verifiability.

Sociology should be a value-neutral science, and its main task is to understand the meaning and significance of human actions and, taking them into account, to reveal the causal laws of the development of society.

Recognizing the specificity of social cognition, M. Weber sought to develop an adequate methodology and logic for the formation of concepts, which was expressed in the method of ideal types he developed. According to M. Weber, the ideal type is a product of creative imagination, which is created through idealization and mental synthesis of the most significant, from the point of view of a scientist, aspects of the phenomenon being studied. The ideal type is not a reflection of reality; rather, it opposes it as a utopian construction. It made it possible to understand empirical reality by correlating and comparing it with the ideal type. M. Weber identified two types of ideal types: historical, used to analyze unique historical configurations (feudalism, Christianity, Confucianism, etc.) and sociological, where he included the types of social action he developed.

Taking a nominalistic view of social life, he believed that all social phenomena are ultimately composed of various combinations of individual actions, and any attempt to consider general concepts, such as the state, socio-historical formation and others, as real historical entities is erroneous. Therefore, understanding the meaning and significance of human actions is the initial premise of sociological research.

M. Weber identified four main types of social actions:

1) goal-oriented, in which there is a correspondence between goals and means of action;

2) value-rational, in which an action is performed for the sake of some value;

3) affective, based on people’s emotional reactions;

4) traditional, occurring in accordance with traditions and customs.

M. Weber argued that in the process of development of world civilization there is a strengthening of rationalistic principles in the life of society. The study of rationality as the leading tendency of Western European capitalism was the main theme of his main work, “The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism.” In this work, he showed that the emergence of capitalism in Europe had not only socio-historical prerequisites, but also spiritual origins, among which the most important role belonged to the Protestant religious ethic, instilling in people the values ​​of thrifty and diligent work.

M. Weber made a great contribution to the development of political sociology, identifying three types of domination: charismatic, based on affective action and blind faith in the leader; traditional and bureaucratic, which correspond to three types of social action: affective, traditional and goal-oriented.

M. Weber laid the foundations of the modern theory of social stratification, which is an attempt to overcome the limitations of the Marxist concept of economic stratification. He believed that not only the economic factor in the form of property, but also the political factor (power) and status (prestige) can be considered as criteria for social stratification, as a result of which it becomes multidimensional.

1.1 Non-traditional type of scientific character. “Understanding Sociology” by G. Simmel and M. Weber.

The non-classical type of scientific sociology was developed by German thinkers G. Simmel and M. Weber. Sociology, in their opinion, is a borderline science, and therefore it should borrow all the best from natural sciences and the humanities: commitment to accurate facts, a method of understanding and relating to values.

G. Simmel and M. Weber rejected such concepts as “society”, “people”, “humanity”, “collective” as a subject of sociological knowledge. They believed that the subject of sociologist's research can only be the individual. In their opinion, observing a chain of real actions of people, a sociologist must construct an explanation of them based on an understanding of the internal motives of these actions. Based on their understanding of the subject of sociology and its place among other sciences, G. Simmel and M. Weber formulate a number of methodological principles on which, in their opinion, sociological knowledge is based: 1) The requirement to eliminate from the scientific worldview the idea of ​​the objectivity of the content of our knowledge. Social science must proceed from the recognition of the fundamental

significant difference between social theory and reality. 2) Sociology should not pretend to be anything more than elucidating the causes of certain past events, refraining from so-called “scientific forecasts.”

Strict adherence to these two rules can create the impression that sociological theory does not have an objective, generally valid meaning, but is the fruit of subjective arbitrariness. To remove this impression, G. Simmel and M. Weber argue: 3) Sociological theories and concepts are not the result of intellectual arbitrariness, because intellectual activity itself is subject to well-defined social techniques and, above all, the rules of formal logic and universal human values. 4) A sociologist must know that the basis of his mechanism intellectual activity lies in the attribution of the entire variety of empirical data to these universal human values, which set the general direction for all human thinking.

M. Weber distinguishes between the concepts of “value judgments” and “attribution to values.” A value judgment is always personal and subjective. Attribution to value is a procedure of both selection and organization of empirical material. But the question arises: where do these value preferences come from? M. Weber answers as follows: 5) The change in the value preferences of the sociologist is determined by the “interest of the era,” that is, by the socio-historical circumstances in which he acts. What are the tools of cognition through which the basic principles of “understanding sociology” are realized? For G. Simmel, such a tool is one that captures the most stable, universal features of a social phenomenon. G. Simmel believed that the world of ideal values ​​rises above the world of concrete existence. This world of values ​​exists according to its own laws, different from the laws of the material world. The purpose of sociology is the study of values ​​in themselves, as pure forms. Sociology should strive to isolate desires, experiences and motives as psychological aspects from their objective content, isolate the sphere of value as the area of ​​the ideal, and on this basis build a certain geometry of the social world in the form of a relationship of pure forms. Thus, in the teachings of G. Simmel, pure form is the relationship between individuals, considered separately from those objects that are the objects of their desires, aspirations and other psychological acts.

M. Weber’s main tool of cognition is “ideal types.” “The ideal type,” wrote Weber, is “a picture of homogeneous thinking that exists in the imagination of scientists and is intended to consider the obvious, the most “typical social facts.” Ideal types are limiting concepts used in cognition as a scale for correlating and comparing social historical reality with them. According to Weber, all social facts are explained social types. Weber proposed a typology of social action, types of state and rationality. He operates with such ideal types as “capitalism”, “bureaucracy”, “religion”, etc.

Max Weber is, of course, one of the most outstanding sociologists and philosophers of the twentieth century and, along with Karl Marx and Emile Durkheim, is one of the founders of sociological science. He made a huge contribution to the development of both sociological and other disciplines, significantly enriched sociological terminology, adding such concepts as “social action” and “ideal type”, and put forward many theories that raised sociology to a new level. One of the most famous and significant of them is the idea of ​​“understanding sociology.” It was she who influenced a complete rethinking of sociologists’ very understanding of society and their relationship to it, did not pave a new path for the development of sociological science, but also developed many other ideas and theories, raising Weber to the level of the greatest sociologists of all times. What is the uniqueness and value of this method of understanding society, we will try to understand in our work.

So, understanding sociology is one of the methods of understanding society, put forward by Max Weber, the essence of which is to study the individual by explaining his actions, searching for possible motives for his actions. In a broader sense, this is one of the main directions of sociology, associated with an orientation towards overcoming its naturalistic attitudes and positivist ideology. The formation of the idea of ​​understanding sociology was mainly influenced by the idea of ​​positivism put forward by O. Comte and dominant in sociology during its study by Weber, as well as the fact that the scientist was the first to notice and describe in detail the difference between the natural and social sciences. If the goal of the former is to identify new unified laws for the general case (the basic principle of positivism), then Weber considers the subject of sociology to be special cases independent of history. Therefore, in his eyes, the task of a sociologist is not to observe people and draw conclusions based only on these observations, but to put himself in the place of a person and try to understand him and the reasons for certain of his actions. So it is not surprising that the methodology is called “understanding” and refers to “anti-positivist” methods of understanding society. A very important aspect of understanding sociology is Weber’s very understanding of society. He believes that society is not a completely whole and inseparable one, but only a structure of individual elements - individuals, therefore sociology should study only individuals individually, and not society as a whole, because they are the creators of social reality, they have feelings and will and create society, and are not its weak-willed elements. The interweaving of these correlations (that is, attempts to understand the motives of social actions instead of passive observation, plus an attitude towards society as a whole formed by specific individuals possessing qualities and characteristics peculiar only to them) Weber himself calls the “semantic connection of behavior.”

In order to understand and correctly evaluate certain human actions, Weber introduces several helping concepts that serve as a means of “value-independent” research, the importance of which was greatly emphasized in Weber’s works. One of them is the term "ideal type". Weber's ideal type is a certain theoretical construct created to highlight the main criteria for assessing social action. That is, ideal types are some kind of utopias that do not exist in reality, but allow one to evaluate real actions. The most famous example of ideal types can be called the ideal types of state proposed by Weber: the first is the rational type, which represents a rationally beneficial relationship between the dominant and the subordinate; the second is the traditional type, based primarily on already existing and established traditions and customs; and the third is the charismatic type, which is based on the personal qualities of the holders of power, their ability to attract attention and captivate people with them (these are the founders of world religions, outstanding commanders and politicians). The construction of ideal types should serve as an assistant in determining the motives and goals of certain actions of an individual, and also help to assess social reality.

Also, one of the most important “tools” of understanding sociology is the concept of social action. Social action is an action of a person (regardless of whether it is external or internal, reduced to non-interference or patient acceptance), which, according to the meaning assumed by the actor or actors, correlates with the action of other people or is oriented towards it; that is, in essence, social action is the object of study of the understanding method. Weber divides it into four types, based on the degree of rationality and adequacy of the behavior of individuals: goal-rational, value-rational, traditional and affective. Purposeful rational action is the most rational type of behavior, correlating with rationally meaningful means that ensure the achievement of this particular goal and not some other goal; value-rational action - an action in which the most important role for the individual is played by the act itself, its commission; traditional action is the following of certain models of behavior that have already traditionally developed in society and are not subject to rethinking; finally, an affective action is an action performed under the influence of any strong emotions, the least meaningful of all.

Weber himself believes that rational types of social behavior predominate in modern society. He explains his position with such a concept as rationalization - the process through which society progresses. Thanks to rationalization, which is characteristic of industrial society, understanding sociology becomes even more meaningful, because a person calculates every action, which means it becomes possible to classify people’s behavior and understand it from the inside. We can observe that the process of rationalization has intensified in the example of the bureaucracy, which deals with organizational issues of general cases, but not specific ones. Bureaucratic management methods have many advantages, they eliminate the “house”, but, on the other hand, they steal time. Rationalization manifests itself in almost all spheres of society: in economics - the calculation and organization of production is carried out by evaluating procedures, in religion - the mystical is gradually replaced by personal responsibility, in politics - the emergence of a regular party machine, in science - the emergence of large scientific teams, where everyone acts as an established mechanism, rather than exploring alone, as well as in moral behavior - the establishment of traditional education. Thus, Weberian rationalization leads us to see more clearly the motives driving people's behavior.

According to Weber, all social actions are performed by people in accordance with their membership in social organizations: class, estate and party. Class affiliation is determined by a person’s income level and living conditions. It is interesting that if opportunities change in one direction or another, the reaction to what is happening among people from the same class will be similar. M. Weber called this phenomenon “mass-like.” People fall into classes based on a similar way of life, that is, they are more oriented toward each other, act “together” rather than individually, and feel unity because their actions are conscious, and they look for similar people in their environment. In a party, people group themselves even more consciously and are guided not by some general ideas, but on their own, which create and change. Thus, belonging to one of these formations dictates to a person a certain type of behavior, and therefore social action.

Weber's understanding of social action is completely different from the meaning that his colleague, another outstanding sociologist, Emile Durkheim, put into this concept. The category of social action, which comes from an understanding of the motives of each person, is the main point in which Weber’s thoughts about sociology differ from the thoughts of E. Durkheim. In contrast to Durkheim, he believes that neither one or another form of collectivity, nor society as a whole has ever been and is not a subject of social action; collectives are only derivatives of the individuals that compose them; they are not independent structures, but simply ways of organizing the work of individual individuals. Weber understanding sociology knowledge

It is very important to understand the role of social action in the development of the understanding method, because it is when attributing an individual’s action to a certain type of social. action, it becomes possible to understand his motives and goals, which is the main task of the method we are considering. It is also important in the development of the understanding method that Weber is the first sociologist to discover the difference between social and scientific disciplines precisely in the sociological sense. Weber's discovery of the differences between the study of society using the natural and social sciences not only had a huge impact on the formation of the understanding method, but also helped to determine its causality, that is, the likelihood of an individual committing a particular action, as well as the dependence of his decisions on various factors. In this regard, we can say that society is not a “victim of history”, but, on the contrary, has many opportunities. To distinguish between causation in the natural and social sciences, he introduces the concept of “adequate causation” in relation to the latter. Speaking in simple words, its purpose is to establish the degree of probability that event x will cause event y to occur. When considering sociology in this way, it may at first seem that the absence of absoluteness makes sociology meaningless, but Weber believes that its main essence lies precisely in the fact that events are probable, that a particular case is essentially a collection of probabilities, and human society , as we have already said, is not something historically inevitable, but a dynamically developing organism.

So, having studied all the facts and features of the understanding method, we can conclude that sociology is the science of social behavior, trying to explain and understand it, and this is largely the merit of Weber and his understanding method. Having studied all of the above, we can draw several conclusions:

• 1) social behavior shows an external and internal position that is focused on committing an act or refusing it;
• 2) behavior is social when it correlates with the behavior of other people;
• 3) the main goal of “understanding sociology” is to determine the motives that govern people in certain situations.

Conclusion

In conclusion, I would like to note once again that Weber is one of the most outstanding scientists in the entire history of sociology. His method of understanding sociology not only forced to reconsider the attitude towards society and directed the attention of sociologists to the personality of a person, to his feelings and internal qualities, but also laid the foundations for his other versions: phenomenological sociology, ethnomethodology, cognitive sociology and many other methods. It is thanks to Weber that people begin to listen to a person, they try not just to condemn, but to understand him, to take his place. As for us, we believe that the theory of understanding sociology is the most correct method of understanding society, because first of all it teaches humanity, denies rashly drawn categorical conclusions and, on the contrary, calls for attempts to understand the situation and understand the motives of a person’s actions. French sociologist R. Aron said: “The work of Weber, like all great thinkers, is so rich and ambiguous that each new generation reads it, studies it and interprets it in different ways,” and with these words, as well as with a huge contribution to sociological science , saddled by Weber, it is impossible not to agree.

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