Is the legacy of Max Weber relevant today? (On the centenary of his death)

Abstract

The article discusses the main issues of the scientific heritage of the classic of world sociology Max Weber, and discusses the reasons why his legacy remains relevant today. It touches upon the problems and difficulties associated with the translation of Weber’s works from German, which led to the inaccuracies in the interpretation of his ideas. The article emphasized the main achievement of Weber that is the creation of an interpretive sociology and its conceptual apparatus. Much attention is paid to the concept of «freedom from values» in connection with Weber’s interpretation of science as a sphere in which there is no place for any criteria other than scientific ones, and the difference between the sphere of science and the sphere of politics, where the individual can openly show his interests and preferences. The methodological relevance of the problems and concepts disclosed by Weber, in particular, the concepts of «ideal type», «types of domination», «charisma», «social action», rationality», «bureaucracy» is considered.

Author Biography

Larissa G. Titarenko, Belarusian State University, 4 Niezaliežnasci Avenue, Minsk 220030, Belarus

doctor of science (sociology), full professor; professor at the department of sociology, faculty of philosophy and social sciences

References

  1. Lachmann LM. The legacy of Max Weber. Berkeley: Glendessary Press; 1971. 147 p.
  2. Vachstein V. Intellectual tricks in sociology [Internet]. 2019 June 2 [cited 2019 October 12]. Available from: https://www. youtube.com/watch?v=R8AcIQVKYag). Russian.
  3. Weber Marianna. Zhizn’ i tvorchestvo Maksa Vebera [The Life and Work of Max Weber]. Moscow: ROSSPEN; 2007. 655 p. Russian.
  4. Weber M. The protestant ethic and the spirit of capitalism. Parsons T, translator. London: Allen and Unwi; 1930. 271 р.
  5. Weber M. The theory of social and economic organization. Parsons T, editor. New York: Oxford University Press; 1947. 450 р.
  6. Gerth HH, Mills CW, translators, editors. From Max Weber: essays in sociology. New York: University Press; 1947. 514 р.
  7. Ionin LG. [«So Weber becomes Russian…»]. Russkii zhurnal [Internet] 2007 April 2 [cited 2019 September 20]. Available from: http://www.russ.ru/layout/set/print//Mirovaya-povestka/CHtoby-Veber-stal-russkim. Russian.
  8. Ionin LG, Kurakin DYu. Does patriotism exist in sociology? Sociological Journal. 2018;24(1):114–131. Russian. DOI: 10.19181/socjour.2018.24.1.5716.
  9. Horkheimer M, Adorno T. Dialektika Prosveshcheniya: filosofskie fragmenty [Dialectic of Enlightenment: Philosophical Fragments]. Saint Petersburg: Medium; 1997. 310 p. Co-published by the «Yuventa». Russian.
  10. Kutyrev VA. Unesennye progressom: eskhatologiya zhizni v tekhnogennom mire [Gone with progress: the eschatology of life in the technogenic world]. Saint Petersburg: Aleteya; 2016. 300 p. Russian.
  11. Koshul BB. The postmodern significance of Max Weber’s legacy: disenchanting Disenchantment. London: Palgrave Macmillan; 2005. 176 р.
  12. Weber M. Khozyaistvo i obshchestvo. Ocherki ponimayushchei sotsiologii. Tom 1. Sotsiologiya [Economy and society. An outline of interpretive sociology. Volume 1. Sociology]. Ionin LG, compiler, editor. Moscow: Higher School of Economics; 2016. 445 p. Russian.
  13. Weber М. [Science as a vocation and profession]. Izbrannye proizvedeniya [Selected works]. Davydov YuN, translator, compiler. Moscow: Progress; 1990. p.707–735. Russian.
  14. Antonovskiy AYu. Scientific knowledge as a concept of social philosophy. Voprosy filosofii. 2018;12:97–100. Russian.
  15. Burawoy M. For public sociology. American Sociological Review. 2005;70(1):4–28. DOI: 10.1177/000312240507000102.
  16. Romanov P, Yarskaya-Smirnova E, editors. Obshchestvennaya rol’ sotsiologii [Public role of sociology]. Мoscow: Variant; 2008. 176 p. Russian.
  17. Davydov YuN. Maks Veber i sovremennaya teoreticheskaya sotsiologiya: aktual’nye problemy veberovskogo sotsiologicheskogo ucheniya [Max Weber and modern theoretical sociology: actual problems of Weberian sociological doctrine]. Moscow: Martis; 1998. 510 p. Russian.
Published
2020-10-03
Keywords: Max Weber, interpretive sociology, scientific legacy, charisma, ideal type, social action, rationality
How to Cite
Titarenko, L. G. (2020). Is the legacy of Max Weber relevant today? (On the centenary of his death). Journal of the Belarusian State University. Sociology, 2, 54-60. https://doi.org/10.33581/2521-6821-2020-2-54-60