Understanding sociology and "historicism's enlightenment" in there philosophical and theoretical connection

2006 Fiscal Year Final Research Report Summary

• Project/Area Number: 16530330
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Single-year Grants
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Sociology
• Research Institution: Oita University
• Principal Investigator: YOSHIME Katsuhiko Oita university, faculty of economics, professor, 経済学部, 教授 (50117412)
• Project Period (FY): 2004 – 2006
• Keywords: meaning of behavior / meaning of history. / meaning-interpretation / inteipretative understanding / Max Weber / J.G.Droysen / understanding sociology / historicism's enlightenment

Research Abstract

Max Weber defines the study method and the peculiar object of "understanding sociology" in his "Basic concepts of sociology " in the following way: : "Sociology should be a science which understands the social behavior in terpretatively and in this way it explains causally."
This definition of "understanding sociology" indicates that this sociology is resulted from a exceedingly Germanized tradition of the thought, "Historismus". It was a German historian, J.G.Droysen, who had first characterized the concept of "understanding " as a method of historical study and sublimated it into a central concept of methodology of the historical science. In line with Droysen's project, Max Weber also applied this methodological conception to his "understanding sociology" as a realistic science. In consequence, Weber constructed himself a sociological method of "meaning-interpretation" which is indispensable to understanding of "the subjectively considered meaning" of the social behavior.
"Behavior" is a realistic and in this meaning also historical phenomenon, therefore the interpretation of meaning included in the behavior has a relation to the horizon of the problem which is connected directly with the interpretation of "meaning of history." Weber maintained that meaning of behavior cannot be generated without "idea of value" as a normative standard and without "view of the world" whose core is "idea of value". This assertion Weber's is a legitimate child of the thought of "historicism's enlightenment" which understands "Historismus" itself relatively. In the base of Weber's conception; of "Economic ethics of the world religions" and of "Typology of the rationalism" lies concealed this assertion. After all, Weber's "understanding sociology" is a opponent of "Historismus" who is but born by "Historismus" itself.