Max Weber (1864-1920) was a German sociologist who studied law, history, economics and philosophy. He is known for defining sociology as the interpretive understanding of social action and causality. Weber believed in using verstehen, or empathetic understanding, to comprehend human behavior and developed the concept of ideal types to categorize social phenomena. He is renowned for his analyses of bureaucracy and authority, distinguishing between rational-legal, traditional and charismatic forms of authority.

1. MAX WEBER
-Presented by:
Mr. Deep Gurung
Doctoral Research Fellow
Department of Business
Administration
Tezpur University
(Dated: 19/09/2014)
VERSTEHEN

2. MAX WEBER (A short Biography)
 1864-1920
 Attended Heidelberg
 Studied law, medieval history, economics and
philosophy
 Joined military service
 Became lawyer and started teaching in
University of Berlin
 In 1893, taught economics at University of
Freiburg and then moved to chair of
economics at Heidelburg.

3. WORKS OF MAX WEBER
The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of
Capitalism.
The Religion of China: Confucianism and
Taoism (1916)
The Religion of India: The Sociology of
Hinduism and Buddhism (1916-17)
The Sociology of Religion (1921)
Economy and Society (died during this
work)

4. SOCIOLOGY DEFINED
Max Weber defined sociology as,
“A science which attempts the
interpretative understanding of
social action in order thereby to
arrive at a causal explanation of its
course and effects.”

5. CAUSALITY
Probability of an even following an
event
Weber thought “In social research
causal certainty is impossible”
To understand human action we
need a different method (other than
natural science method)

6. VERSTEHEN
German term that means to understand,
perceive, know, and comprehend the
nature and significance of a phenomenon
In Sociology, it means systematic
interpretive process of meaningful
understanding
Refers to understanding the meaning of
action from the actor's point of view

7. SOCIAL ACTION
Social action meant action on the part of
individuals participating in social
relationships.
The social action theory sees society as
being all about how people interact.
Meaningful action: Takes account of the
behavior of others and is thereby oriented
in its course

8. TYPES OF SOCIAL ACTION
1. Traditional Social Action:
a) Guided by customs and long standing beliefs
b) People engage in this type of action often
unthinkingly
2. Affective action:
a) Results from the emotional state of mind of
the actor
b) Based on the emotional state of the person

9. 3. Rational action in relation to a
goal(Zweckrational)
Action in which the means to attain a particular
goal are rationally chosen
4. Rational action in relation to a
value(Wertrational)
 value-oriented rationality
 values come from within an ethical, religious,
philosophical context
 Goal which in itself may not be rational
 Pursued through rational means

10. FRIEDRICH
NIETZSCHE
“Psychological
Insight”
KARL MARX
“primacy of
material
conditions “
Marx
Weber
“Social
Action”

11. IDEAL TYPE
Tool for interpretative understanding social
action is Ideal Type
A methodological tool to understand and
analyze social reality
A model, for the scrutiny and systematic
characterization of a concrete situation
Means by which to categorize, interpret,
and predict social actions

12. BUREAUCRACY IDEAL TYPE
A system of government in which
most of the important decisions are
taken by state officials rather than by
elected representatives.
1. Official business is conducted on a
continuous basis.
2. Business is conducted in accordance
with stipulated rules.
3. Every official’s responsibility and
authority are a part of a hierarchy of
authority.

13. 4. Officials do not own the resources
necessary for them to perform their
assigned functions, but they are
accountable for the use of those
resources.
5. Offices cannot be appropriated by
their incumbents in the sense of
property that can be inherited or sold.
6. Official business is conducted on the
basis of written documents.
[** Source: Economy and Society (1925)]

14. AUTHORITY
Authority
Legitimate power to give orders,
make decisions, and enforce
obedience
associated with social positions
Power
Ability to impose one’s will onto
another
Associated with personality

15. TYPES OF AUTHORITY
Rational-legal authority is based on
rational rules legally or contractually
established; characterized by
bureaucracies
Traditional Authority is dominant type in
pre-modern societies; characterized by
monarchies
Charismatic authority rests on appeal of
leader and is naturally unstable;
characterized by Hitler