SOC231H5 Study Guide - Final Guide: Traditional Authority, Social Fact, Longrun
Document Summary
Provide an account of weber"s analysis of the emergence of modern, rational capitalism. Your answer must include a discussion of substantive/value rationality versus formal/instrumental rationality. Weber"s central question is a concern with the nexus between forms of life conduct, the ways in which individuals attempt to give meaning to their lives, and the universal constraints imposed by the differential distribution of power. In social terms, rationalization involves the extension of scientific rationality to the conduct of social life itself modern systems of surveillance and the rise of bureaucratic forms of administration. Practical rationality: assumes no external mystical causes affecting the outcome of human actions and sees reality in terms of what is given. Theoretical/technical rationality: involves a cognitive effort to master the world through causality and logical deduction and induction, allows individuals to understand the meaning of life by means of abstract concepts and conceptual reasoning. Protestantism did prove to be amenable to rational capitalism (to be alterable)
