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Book No. – 002 (Sociology)
Book Name – Sociology (C.N. Shankar Rao)
What’s Inside the Chapter? (After Subscription)
1. BRIEF INTRODUCTION OF MAX WEBER
2. WEBER’S THEORY OF “IDEAL TYPES”
2.1. Weber’s Definition of Ideal Type
2.2. Main Characteristics of “Ideal Type”
2.3. Critical comments about “Ideal Type”
3. RELIGION AND SOCIETY OR WEBER’S THEORY OF RELIGION OR SOCIOLOGY OF RELIGION
4. WEBER’S THEORY OF BUREAUCRACY
4.1. Meaning and Definition of Bureaucracy
4.2. Weber The Prime Architect of the “Theory of Bureaucracy”
4.3. Characteristics of Bureaucracy
4.4. Factors Contributing to the Development of Bureaucracy
4.5. Functional and Dysfunctional Aspects of Bureaucracy
5. A BRIEF EVALUATION OF WEBER’S CONTRIBUTIONS
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Max Weber and His Thoughts
Sociology
Chapter – 52
BRIEF INTRODUCTION OF MAX WEBER
- Max Weber (1864-1920) was a prominent sociologist who made a significant impact on the field.
- He was a profound scholar, voracious reader, and prolific writer. His career in sociology began through law.
- Weber was born on April 21, 1864, in Erfurt, Germany, into a rich Protestant family. He spent most of his early life in Berlin.
- His father was a bureaucrat with a high political position, more of a hedonist than a Protestant. In contrast, his mother was a devout Calvinist leading an ascetic life.
- The conflict between his parents deeply affected Weber’s feelings and sentiments.
- Weber studied law at Heidelberg University at age 18, later expanding his interests to Roman institutions, theology, economics, medieval history, and philosophy.
- He had varied experiences as a soldier, professor, politician, legal expert, and sociologist.
- After military service, he joined Berlin University. He was financially dependent on his father for 8 years and disliked his father’s treatment of his mother.
- In 1900, Weber had a violent clash with his father, leading to his father’s departure from the house and death within a month, causing Weber a mental breakdown for about five years.
- After recovering, Weber traveled extensively, including to America, and spent 1900-1918 mostly outside teaching.
- In the last three years of his life (1918-1920), he lectured at Vienna and Munich universities. Two famous lectures were “Science as a Vocation” and “Politics as a Vocation“.
- During his last years, Weber was actively engaged in political activity and died on June 14, 1920.
- Weber’s contributions to sociology include works like “Economy and Society“, “The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism“, and “Bureaucracy“.
- He founded the German Sociological Society in 1910 and published in leading social science journals like “Archiv fuer Sozial Wissenschaft“.
- Though he was involved in politics, Weber was always an intellectual and his home was a hub for intellectuals like George Simmel, Robert Michaels, and George Lukas.
- Weber’s life and work reflected a tension between his father’s bureaucratic mindset and his mother’s religiosity, influencing his sociological theories.
- Main Works:
- “General Economic History” (1927)
- “The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism” (1930)
- “Max Weber on Law in Economy and Society” (1945)
- “From Max Weber: Essays in Sociology” (1946)
- “The Theory of Social and Economic Organisations” (1947)
- “The Methodology of Social Sciences” (1949)
- “The City” (1958)
- “The Sociology of Religion” (1963)
- “On Charisma and Institution Building” (1968)
- “Economy and Society” (1968)
- Other important works include “The Religion of China”, “The Religion of India”, “Ancient Judaism”, and his lectures on Science as a Vocation and Politics as a Vocation.