Interpretivism
Two versions of the positivist paradigm have been presented: the initial nineteenth- century perspective and its critical revision, carried out in the 1930s and again in the 1970s. The paradigm presented in this section underwent an almost symmetrical development. If we wished to stress the analogy between the two paradigms, we would introduce the initial vision of ‘interpretive sociology’, which owed both its methodological elaboration and its first attempts at empirical research, at the beginning of the twentieth century, to Max Weber (his role was symmetrical to that played by Durkheim in positivism). This would then be followed by the 1960s reinterpretation of the original approach, above all I American sociology. This, in turn , gave rise to the various lines of thought found in symbolic interactionism, phenomenological sociology and etnomethodology, wich, in spite of their differences, are unifed by a common emphasis on individual interaction.
However, we prefer not to proceed in this manner, since there is no discontinuity between the original Weberian vision and subsequent developments, as there was in the shift from nineteenth to twentieth-century positivism. Instead, we will put these two historical blocks of approaches to social research together under the same heading and utilize the general term ‘intertivism’ for all the theoretical visions in which really is not simply to be observed, but rather ‘interpreted’.
Max Weber that this new perspectives enters fully into the field of sociology. Indeed, Dilthey had spoken generically of ‘science of the spirit’, among which he singled out historiography. Weber brought the concept of Verstehen into sociology, and revised Dilthey’s original position.
Reading the first point, throughout his life Weber reiterated the need for the historical and social sciences to be free from any value judgement whatsoever. However, his awareness of the problem exceeded his ability to provide an unequivocal answer. Nonetheless, he never abandoned his conviction that the historical and social sciences must be value-free. “The distinction between knowledge and judgement – that is to say, between fulfilling the scientific responsibility of seeing factual reality and the fulfilling the practical responsibility of defending one’s own ideals – this is the principle to which we must adhere most firmly” (Weber, 1904). [1, 20-21 p.]
Max Weber
Max Weber (1864-1920) is the German sociologist, philosopher, historian. Made off the Heidelberg university, where studied jurisprudence. From 1894 is a professor in an university in Fraisburg, from 1896 - in Heidelberg. From 1904 is an editor of the German sociological magazine "Archive of social science and social politics". From 1919 is a professor of the Munich university. Founder of theory of social stratification.
Basic labours: "Roman agrarian history and her value for a constitutional and private law"(1891), "Protestant ethics and spirit of capitalism"(1905), "Economic ethics of world religions"(1919), "Politics as calling and profession"(1919), "Economy and society"(1921).
An idea became the bar of looks of М. of Вебера about rationality as qualificatory line of the modern European culture. Rationality resists to traditional and charismatic to the methods of organization of public relations.
Most bright displays of rationality : in an economy is an invention of double entry, stimulating development of capitalist organization of production; in politics is claim of institutes of formal right, парламентаризма and modern bureaucratic administration; in ethics is honesty of relations, in particular between a creditor by both a debtor .
Max Weber considered that the European capitalism is under an obligation an origin to the protestant religiously-ethic complex, providing education of industriousness, thrift, honesty, prudence. In political sociology spared large attention to the analysis of conflicts of interests of different group of ruling class : status and prestige groups. The main conflict of political life saw in a fight between political batchwises and bureaucratic vehicle.
The supporters of Weber consider that he refuted the materialistic understanding of history and proved priority of ethic and religious factors in history. Other come from possibility to complement marxism of Weberian.
Conclusions :
The program of sociological research in essence is a theory and methodology of concrete study, illumination of separate empiric ob''ektu or phenomena. In the program practically general theoretic and methodological principles of philosophy will be realized as a zagal'no-sociologichnoy theory and special theories of research.
Sociological theories are given by scientific answers for the effluent issues of the day of contemporaneity. Empiric sociological researches which develop in close zv''yazku with sociological theories participate actively in scientific cognition of conformities to law of development, provide the increase of the new empiric grounded knowledges about the real ways of exposure of new facts and tendencies of changes of separate spheres of life of society.
Bibliography :
Social Research Piergiorgio Corbetta, 2003;
Social Research Methods Alan Bryman / Oxford University Press, 2004;
Social research Malcolm Williams, 2003;
Durkheim, Emile ‘The Rules of Sociological Method ’ tran. Sarah A. , A. Salavay and John M. Mueller, George E. G. (1938, 1960) p.45