• 2021-04-14
    MaxWeberwasoneofthemostimportantGermanintellectualsofhisday.Hebelievedthatsociologicalexplanationsmustderivefromanunderstandingofwhypeoplechoosetheactionstheydo.ThisbeliefdifferedsharplyfromDurkheim’sviewthatsocietyandindividualsshouldbestudiedatdifferentlevels.Weberacknowledgedthattherearesocialfactsthatmustbeanalyzedusingscientificmethods,buthearguedthatsocialfactsarethetotalresultofindividualactions.
    ThestressonindividualactionledWebertolookbeyondobjectivebehaviorandtofocusonpeople’ssubjectivebelief,attitudes,valuesandmotives.AccordingtoWeber,sociologistsmustinterpret,notjustobserve.Theymusttrytoseeactionsfromthepointofviewoftheactor.Thisapproachhecalledverstehen,whichinGermanmeansemphaticunderstanding.Weberstressedthatverstehencouldbesystematic.Itdidnotreducesociologicalknowledgesimplytomatterofopinion.Butexplanations,inhisview,hadtogobeyondtheobjectivecountingofwhoinsocietyhaswhichsocialattributes(社会属性).Explanations,accordingtoWeber,mustconsiderthesubjectivethoughtsandfeelingsthatleadtoparticularactions.
    LikeMarxandDurkheim,Weberwantedtounderstandtherapidsocialchangesoccurringinhistime.ToWeberthemostfundamentaltrendinthemodemerawasanincreasingrationalization(理性化)ofsocialactionandsocialinstitutions.Morespecifically,WebersawthehistoryofWesternsocietyintermsofashiftfromtraditionalorientations,tomorerationalorientations.
    Weberbelievedthatthegeneraltrendtowardincreasedrationalizationcouldbeseeninmanyaspectsofsociallife.Onewastheriseofscienceastheprincipalmethodofacquiringknowledge.Bytheeighteenthandnineteenthcenturiespeoplewereincreasinglycomingtobelieveinscience,toconsideritsrational,systematicmethodssuperiortosimpleintuitionandcommonsense.Increasedrationalizationcouldalsobeseeninthegrowthofgovernmentbureaucracies(官僚制度),wherelawsarethebasisofauthority.Athirdareawheretheriseofrationalizationcouldbeseenwasinthedevelopmentofcapitalism.Capitalismrequirespeopletoanalyzemarkets,maximizetheefficiencyofproduction,calculatereturnsoninvestments,andcreatefinancialinstitutionstosupporteconomicexpansion,allthingsthatdemandalogical,reasonedapproachtotheworld.
    Whatisoneofthereasonsfortheincreaseofrationalization?
  • 举一反三