REL 1000 : Exam 2 Notes
Test 2 Religion Notes
Max Weber
- Not simply cause or effect it is both
- view not strictly functionalist/reductionalist
- rejected that some things are always causes or effects
- very concerned with method
Tools of sociological Study
- Verstehen
-Understanding
- intense debate about how to study society
- Weber insisted that understanding people is not the same as understanding
the natural world
- we assign meaning- driven by beliefs and emotions
- Wilhelm Dilthey called for use of imagination and intuition
-Weber thought this was impossible
- Weber insisted on using reason
- describe historical circumstances -> predict future events -> look at actual
events -> determine motives that cause things to happen that way
- determining motives is difficult because:
-motives are diverse
- instrumentally rational- a means to achieve a goal
- value- rational- the goal is good in itself
- Affectual- driven by emotion
- Traditional- done out of habit
- Ideal-Types
- general concept but not a generalization
- the intentional exaggeration of what a figure or system should be- goes
beyond the defining characteristic
- provides a model for analyzing other cases
- helpful for studying aspects of religion
- types of social authority
- traditional, legal, and charismatic
- we look for transitions between ideal-types and explain how they are
bridged
- want to explain why people go from being capitalist to not capitalist and
vice versa
- Values
- sociology should be value-free
- he recognized that this was impossible
- deciding to study scientifically is a value claim
- we have to negotiate our values and the values of those we study
The protestant ethic and the spirit of capitalism
- Saw a connection between the rise of Protestantism and capitalism
- Luther’s “secularized” idea of vocation
- explains why you have to work so hard
The protestant ethic and the spirit of capitalism
- Saw a connection between the rise of Protestantism and capitalism
- luther’s “secularized” idea of vocation
- explains hard work
- Calvin’s idea of predestination
- explains accumulation of wealth
- to deal with anxiety about salvation, prots. Came to believe that economic
success indicated elect status
- “inner-worldly asceticism” (causing themselves harm and pain) (here
talking about living a minial lifestyle, meager/frugal)
-live within system in place so work hard, make money, live incredibly
simple life
- possibly the origin of capitalism
- Protestant origins of capitalism have since been forgotten
Economic ethic of the worlds religions
- continuation of The Protestant Ethic
Document Summary
Not simply cause or effect it is both. Rejected that some things are always causes or effects. Intense debate about how to study society. Weber insisted that understanding people is not the same as understanding the natural world. We assign meaning- driven by beliefs and emotions. Wilhelm dilthey called for use of imagination and intuition. Describe historical circumstances -> predict future events -> look at actual events -> determine motives that cause things to happen that way. Instrumentally rational- a means to achieve a goal. Value- rational- the goal is good in itself. The intentional exaggeration of what a figure or system should be- goes beyond the defining characteristic. Provides a model for analyzing other cases. We look for transitions between ideal-types and explain how they are bridged. Want to explain why people go from being capitalist to not capitalist and vice versa. Deciding to study scientifically is a value claim.
