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. AccordingtoWeber,whatcharacteristicshouldexplanationsofindividualactionshave?