ipl-logo

Max Weber Rationality

2038 Words9 Pages

The works of German sociologist Max Weber, are some of the most significant, controversial and influential works of the twentieth century. His most noted piece of work was on the thesis of the “Protestant ethic”, with the ideas of Protestantism, capitalism and bureaucracy. For Weber, rationality was the lead agent in the solid transformation of society from traditional to modern. He argued that modernity is about the unleashing of this dynamic of rationality; characterised by efficiency, calculability and accountability (McLennan, Manus and Spoonley, 2010). The attempt to control nature, individuals and society by calculating social life is seen in the ideas of Protestantism. While rationalisation is essential to modern societies, Weber and …show more content…

Die Entzauberung der Welt, as Weber called it- “the disenchantment of the world” was the effect of rationalisation (Collins and Mokowsky, 2005). Rationality of time, energy and money in all spheres of social life was outstripping people of their religious context, and the modern world was losing a certain magic quality. The traditional institutions such as the family, religion and community declined, resulting in secularisation of weakening traditional and religious moral authority (Elwell, 1999). Instead, values of efficiency and calculability prevailed. Religious beliefs and values of primitive society gave meaning and significance to people. The modern world, as Weber thought, was transforming human beings into merely cogs and bureaucratic machines, trapped in an “iron cage” of bureaucratic rationalisation- not as complex human beings with sensibilities and souls (Lippmann and Aldrich, 2001). “Specialists without spirit, sensualists without heart” (SAGE, 2004 pp.180) as Weber expressed, reinforces the loss of humanity in our “iron cage”. The “iron cage” is reflective of Weber as a pessimist of progression of the modern world. His pessimism indicates that, all the best intentions in the world may not necessarily produce good outcomes (Weber, 1905/1930). C. Wright Mills (1958) saw that the forces of rationalisation can sometimes conflict with moral reflection, of both the goal and the means of action. Mill (1958) pointed to the concentration camps of Nazi Germany as an extreme case of rationalisation. The objective to dehumanise and exterminate as many people as possible in the most efficient manner, exemplifies how rationality can result in horror and tragedy (Elwell, 1999). This is truly an emphasis to Weber’s fear of our probable future to be more bureaucratised, and also, his

Show More
Related
1196 Words | 5 Pages

Night Essay As the world began, humanity observed various events, took note of their surroundings, and shared that information. Ever since one horrid event titled the Holocaust occurred millions of corrupted victims chose to forget the difficult experience. To them, it was easier to leave the problems behind, and create a new life, than to tackle the situation, and gain enlightenment. The silent stayed silent to the point that a portion of humanity began to doubt if the Holocaust was even a real term event, or if it was just a hoax.

Read More
198 Words | 1 Pages

I was inspired by Night, an autobiographical novel by Elie Wiesel telling about his life during the Holocaust. Before the Holocaust took a grip on his life, Wiesel mentions his religious affiliation, a strong Jewish dedication even as a young child. He describes his unyielding desire to dedicate himself to the practices and knowledge of his religion. The question of humanity came to mind when the horrors of the Holocaust was beginning to destroy everything in his life, even his faith. At the height of his experiences, he denied his God.

Read More
489 Words | 2 Pages

The Angelic Pipel or the Father The situation of keeping with Human nature depends on the intensity of the crime against humanity. In Elie Wiesel’s Night, terms of deciding between the slow death of a child or the slow death of an adult is a difficult one. Between the angelic pipels hanging and killing one’s father for a piece of bread, choosing which best keeps with human nature is difficult.

Read More
516 Words | 3 Pages

While morality and sympathy can be in a constant battle, ultimately the one that wins is what the person is more obligated to. Bennett presents Heinrich Himmler, Jonathan Edwards and Wilfred Owen in the article to show how sympathy does not always win over morality. Heinrich Himmler is the Nazi who came up with the “Final Solution” to murder mass amounts of people.

Read More
1775 Words | 8 Pages

Let this essay be a reminder to the world that totalitarian ideologies will bring forth catastrophe just as National Socialism did in Nazi Germany. The memoirs of Rudolf Hoss, Death Dealer, is one of the most detailed accounts of a man who was the Commandant of Auschwitz, and is known as one of the greatest mass murderers in history. In the forward Primo Levi wrote to Death Dealer, he stated that even though this autobiography is filled with evil and has no literary quality, it’s one of the most instructive books ever published because it describes a human life exemplary in its way (Hoss, 3). In this essay, I will argue that Primo Levi thought Death Dealer is one of the most instructive books because it seeks to explain how ordinary men

Read More
540 Words | 3 Pages

Holocaust survivor and American Jewish author, Elie Wiesel in his serious and pensive speech, “The Perils of Indifference,” asserts that “to be indifferent” of the world’s problems “is what makes the human being inhuman” and is the reason that genocides along with millions of deaths have occured (The Perils of). He supports his claim by revealing to his audience his personal experience in the concentration camps of the Holocaust to appeal to their emotions so that they can understand what he had to go through; moreover, Wiesel uses strong, emotionally loaded language to further create a stronger impact when describing our world and society as being involved with “so much violence” and “so much indifference.” Additionally, he uses imagery to illustrate indifference as “not only a sin,” but “a punishment.” Wiesel’s purpose is to make “the human being become less indifferent and more human” in order to bring about change in

Read More
717 Words | 3 Pages

Heavily influenced by Max Weber, Peter Berger was interested in the meaning of social structures. Berger’s concern with the meaning societies give to the world is apparent throughout his book The Sacred Canopy (1967), in which he drew on the sociology of knowledge to explain the sociological roots of religious beliefs. His main goal is to convince readers that religion is a historical product, it is created by us and has the power to govern us. Society is a human product. Berger made it very clear from the beginning, that society is a dialectic phenomenon; it was produced by us and in return, produced us too.

Read More
1021 Words | 5 Pages

Overall, the rational is but an attempt to define the undefinable. To understand Otto’s rejection of the rational, the rational must be understood. “Rational,” in The Idea of the Holy, refers to the conceptualization of religion and the divine itself. Otto’s basic definition of the rational stems from the establishment and application of concepts evidenced in “they can be grasped by the intellect; they can be analyzed by thought; they even admit of definition. An object that can thus be thought conceptually may be termed rational” (Otto, 1).

Read More
795 Words | 4 Pages

After all, their power of temptation lies not so much in their individual theorems as in their future-proof attitude and in their exploitation of the human desire for security and meaning. Arendt, H. (1978). Eichmann in Jerusalem a report on the banality of evil. New York: Penguin. Butler, J. (2011, August 29).

Read More
1447 Words | 6 Pages

Philosophers infested people’s thoughts with new beliefs that were foreign to their era. The belief in and worship of a superhuman controlling power, especially a personal

Read More
771 Words | 4 Pages

Community organizing doesn’t seem like an accessible task to undertake, but Saul Alinsky made his movements seem effortless and possible for the common person to initiate. One of his tactics that I truly admired was his ability to blend in with the crowd. Alinsky grew up in the an underprivileged neighborhood and was fortunate to finish his graduate degree in criminal justice. All his graduate research was valuable, but his real education came from his work with the mob in the streets known as “back of the yards”. His tactic was to ingratiate leaders on the streets because they would know more about the habitat than he would.

Read More
1524 Words | 7 Pages

The sceptical viewpoint of thinkers and philosophers regarding matters of law, administration and customs gave birth to a rational reconstruction of society which preached the idea of bestowing enough freedom

Read More
1740 Words | 7 Pages

Emile Durkheim (1858-1917) and Max Weber (1864-1920) are widely considered as two of the “founding fathers” of sociology. They are important for their contribution to understanding society. A great deal of their contributions have had a lasting impact into how sociological studies are conducted. The difference between these two sociologist is their theoretical perspectives. Unlike Weber who belonged to the interpretive perspective, Durkheim belonged to the functionalist perspective.

Read More
837 Words | 4 Pages

Max Weber and Emile Durkheim are two of the three founding fathers of sociology, who are both famous for their scientific methods in their approach towards sociology. They both wanted their methodological approaches to be more and more organized and scientific, however because of the difference in their views on the idea of scientific, Durkheim’s approach tends to be more scientific than Weber’s. This is because Weber does not wish to approach sociology in the manner scientists approached the natural sciences and believes more in interpretive analysis, than observational analysis. In this paper, I will compare and contrast the methodological approaches of Weber and Durkheim and discuss how Weber’s approach is more historical and Durkheim’s

Read More
779 Words | 4 Pages

The undue weightage provided by the Enlightenment ethics to the unmitigated use of one’s intellect, was claimed to have lead to the newfound zeal of individualism in men. Evils of despotism and hunger for power corrupted the functionings of the society. Napoleon, the ‘enlightened despot, is the embodiment of the Enlightenment ethics going ashtray. Needless to say, from thereon emerged a sense of dissatisfaction with the current scheme of things. With the realization that dry use of reason was no good for the overall development of mankind but only lead to an upsurge in hunger for power and likes of it, crept in the demands to a fuller and healthier perception of education and lifestyle.

Read More

More about Max Weber Rationality

Related Topics

Open Document