Edited and with a new introduction by Robert J. Antonio and Alan Sica.

Max Weber wrote these methodological essays in the closest intimacy with actual research and against a background of constant and intensive meditation on substantive problems in the theory and strategy of the social sciences. They were written between 1903 and 1917, the most productive of Max Weber's life, when he was working on his studies in the sociology of religion and Wirtschaft und Gesellschaft.

Weber had done important work in economic and legal history and had taught economic theory. On the basis of original investigations, he had acquired a specialist's knowledge of the details of German economic and social structure. His always vital concern for the political prosperity of Germany among the nations thrust him deeply into discussion of political ideals and programs.

Weber's methodology still holds interest for us. Some of its shortcomings, from the contemporary viewpoint, may be attributed to the fact that some of the methodological problems that he treated could not be satisfactorily resolved prior to certain actual developments in research technique. These few qualifications aside, the work remains a pioneering work in large scale social research, from one of the field's masters.

About the Author
Edward A. Shils (1910-1995) was professor in the Committee on Social Thought at the University of Chicago. His books include Center and Periphery, The Calling of Sociology, The Intellectual between Tradition and Modernity: The Indian Situation, The Order of Learning and Toward a General Theory of Action. Alan Sica is professor of sociology and director of the Social Thought Program at Pennsylvania State University. Editor of the ASA Journal Sociological Theory from 1989 to 1994 and now of Contemporary Sociology, his books include Weber, Irrationality, and Social Order; Ideologies and the Corruption of Thought; Max Weber and the New Century; and Max Weber: A Comprehensive Bibliography.


Book Information
ISBN 9781412813198
Author Max Weber
Format Paperback
Page Count 256
Imprint Routledge
Publisher Taylor & Francis Inc
Weight(grams) 340g