Module: Understanding Social Change
Week 6 – Max Weber
Quiz
(1) What did Weber regard as a central topic for sociology? The meaningful
nature of social action
(2) Which of the following German philosophers most influenced Weber? Kant –
believed the individual as a creative input to the world.
(3) A tradition in German philosophy derived from Kant which was followed by
Weber is to distinguish between two worlds. What are they? The world of
objects and the world of consciousness – individuals decide and create
meaning for those objects.
(4) What does Weber say is one of the characteristics of social action? It has
meaning – for Weber, anything and everything stems from meaning. You can’t
understand the social world by simply looking at it.
(5) Which of Weber’s four types of meaningful action does he say is the most
‘rational’? Action which is directed towards the attainment of an end
(6) What does Weber call the models he constructs to enable him to study the
social world? Ideal types – they are not a description of reality, they are just a
mental construct of what a reality should be.
(7) What was the title of Weber’s book which tried to explain the origins of
industrial capitalism in Western Europe? The Protestant Ethic & the Spirit of
Capitalism – he sets out the groundwork for what capitalism came to being.
(8) How does Weber describe the orientation of Protestantism? Inner-worldly
ascetic – giving up pleasures you can have now in order to receive benefits
later on.
Max Weber
(1) A key idea in Weber’s method is that of verstehen; what did he mean by
it?
Human understanding
Human’s capacity to think and act
He believed that humans have an ‘inner state’ where they think and
make decisions on how to act
Researching with empathetic lens
Week 6 – Max Weber
Quiz
(1) What did Weber regard as a central topic for sociology? The meaningful
nature of social action
(2) Which of the following German philosophers most influenced Weber? Kant –
believed the individual as a creative input to the world.
(3) A tradition in German philosophy derived from Kant which was followed by
Weber is to distinguish between two worlds. What are they? The world of
objects and the world of consciousness – individuals decide and create
meaning for those objects.
(4) What does Weber say is one of the characteristics of social action? It has
meaning – for Weber, anything and everything stems from meaning. You can’t
understand the social world by simply looking at it.
(5) Which of Weber’s four types of meaningful action does he say is the most
‘rational’? Action which is directed towards the attainment of an end
(6) What does Weber call the models he constructs to enable him to study the
social world? Ideal types – they are not a description of reality, they are just a
mental construct of what a reality should be.
(7) What was the title of Weber’s book which tried to explain the origins of
industrial capitalism in Western Europe? The Protestant Ethic & the Spirit of
Capitalism – he sets out the groundwork for what capitalism came to being.
(8) How does Weber describe the orientation of Protestantism? Inner-worldly
ascetic – giving up pleasures you can have now in order to receive benefits
later on.
Max Weber
(1) A key idea in Weber’s method is that of verstehen; what did he mean by
it?
Human understanding
Human’s capacity to think and act
He believed that humans have an ‘inner state’ where they think and
make decisions on how to act
Researching with empathetic lens
