Max Weber

by Frank Parkin, Regis A. Factor

Max The Lawyer as Social thinker aims to relate the categories of Weber's social thinking to the intellectual context of legal thinking and theory in which he was educated. Its interpretive aim is to show how knowledge of these relations illuminates our understanding of Weber's own intentions. By comparing Weber's social theory of the teleological kind favoured by his contemporaries, which sought to identify social purposes and their effects and realization in history, but rather to radically undermine the project of teleological social theory by replacing categories of description that are amenable to or dependent upon teleological interpretations with categories that are specifically constructed to strip away teleology. The book identifies some of the key sources of Weber's thought in the legal tradition, notably the jurisprudential theorist Rudolph von Ihering, who was a classic teleological thinker, influenced by Bentham as well as by neo-Kantianism. Weber's famous definition of social action should be adequate on the level of meaning and adequate on the level cause is shown to be a variant of Ihering's purposive definition of social action. The same is done for the concept of interest, which Ihering connects to common social Weber disconnects it. The book is the only account of the sources of Weber's sociology of law. The book leads to a new interpretation of Weber. It should be of interest to scholars in social theory, jurisprudence and the history of ideas.

Genres: Sociology, Nonfiction

124 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 1982

Reviews

[M L Delshad · Rating 3 out of 5]

اگر به دنبال شرح شسته رفته ای از جامعه شناسی وبر میگردید این کار نیازتان را مرتفع نمیکند.
پارکین فرض را بر آن گداشته که مخاطب فهم متعارفی از مفاهیم اصلی جامعه شناسی وبر دارد و تمام توان خود را برای نقادی این مفاهیم گذاشته است.

[Khan Hammaad · Rating 3 out of 5]

His view about east is quite 'Orientalistic' which comes out in his construction of ideal types for eastern religions.
Apart from 'The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism'. The sections on 'Domination and Legitimacy' and 'Class, Status, and party' are interesting.

Some familiarity with Marxism will help as his work often stands in contrast to Marx.

[Julius V · Rating 3 out of 5]

Am

[Zoë Birss · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a lay reader mostly unfamiliar with sociology as a discipline, I cannot comment on the accuracy of this book's content, nor on where it sits in the spectrum of academic writing on Weber. This is my introduction to Weber, a reader with The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism on my shelf, plus a few books on German political and economic history that I would like to read. I hoped for some context and background from this book to help inform my further reading. This I believe I did find.

Parkin's book is broad in scope, though concise, and very accessible. In fact, for an academic book, it was surprisingly fun to read. Parkin has a great sense of humour, and frequently employed sarcasm and dry wit in his descriptions and criticisms of Weber's theories. And criticisms did abound. Parker clearly appreciates Weber, but this book's content included at least as many arguments thoughtfully and clearly levelled against Weber as there was clear descriptions of Weber's original thoughts. As such, I found it gave me good tools for understanding and engaging with Weber as an intellectual and historical figure.

I recommend this book to anyone seeking a good intro to either Weber or sociology.

[ArEzO.... Es · Rating 4 out of 5]

كتاب به چهار عنصر اصلی كار وبر می پردازد:رويكرد او به روش جامعه شناسي،بی طرفی اخلاقی و تبيين تاريخي؛كار تاثير گذارش درباره دين و سرمايه داري؛نظريه اش در باب اقتدار و قدرت سياسي؛و سهم او در تحليل طبقه،منزلت و حزب.كتاب نثری بسيار روان و خوب دارد.نويسنده زاويه ديد انتقادی خود با وبر را در متن مورد نظر لحاظ كرده و البته در تبيين درست انديشه های اين متفكر بزرگ تلاشی در خور داشته است

[Titus Hjelm · Rating 4 out of 5]

A brilliant little book! Broadly sympathetic to Weber (Parkin is, after all, the author of 'Marxism and Class Theory: A Bourgeois Critique'), yet consistently critical of Weber ambiguities and contradictions. While a must for readers with basic knowledge of Weber, the book lacks a clear constructive agenda. That is, how can we then use Weber?

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one of the many points on which Weber seems to take issue with himself. He dismisses rather crossly an suggestion that the capitalist spirit could have arisen as a consequence of Calvinism; this is “a foolish and doctrinaire thesis”. Yet much of his work on comparative religion seems to be dedicated to establishing this very point.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quick read.

[Rickard · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was ok. Some interesting questions.