Weber’s methodological writings form the bedrock of key ideas across the social sciences. His discussion of value freedom and value commitment, causality, understanding and explanation, theory building and ideal types have been of fundamental importance, and their impact remains undiminished today. These ideas influence the current research practice of sociologists, historians, economists and political scientists and are central to debates in the philosophy of social science. But, until now, Weber's extensive writings on methodology have lacked a comprehensive publication.
Edited by two of the world's leading Weber scholars, Collected Methodological Writings will provide a completely new, accurate and reliable translation of Weber’s extensive output, including previously untranslated letters. Accompanying editorial commentary explains the context of, and interconnections between, all these writings, and additional useful features include a glossary of German terms and an English key, endnotes, bibliography, and person and subject indexes.
Table of Contents:
Max Weber Bibliography. Introduction. Editorial Preface. Articles. Contributions and Interventions (excerpts). Letters (Excerpts). Notes and Drafts. English Key to Glossary. Glossary. Index of Persons. Subject Index
About the Author :
Hans Henrik Bruun is Adjunct Professor at the Department of Sociology, University of Copenhagen. He collaborated on the first comprehensive Danish translation of Weber’s selected writings. His Science, Values and Politics in Max Weber's Methodology(Ashgate, 2010, 1st edn 1972) has remained a standard reference work on values in Weber’s methodology for over three decades.
Sam Whimster is Professor at the Global Policy Institute, London, and Fellow at the Centre for Advanced Study ("Recht als Kultur"), University of Bonn. His publications include Reforming the City: Responses to the global financial crisis(2009),Understanding Weber (2007), Essential Weber (2004), Max Weber and the Culture of Anarchy (1999) and, with Scott Lash, Max Weber, Rationality and Modernity (1987). He is the editor of the journal Max Weber Studies.
Review :
'Hans Henrik Bruun and Sam Whimster have rendered to present and future generations of anglophone Gelehrter and their students a service which amply justifies the labour that it required. It should have been done before, but it will not need to be done again. They have earned the lasting gratitude as well as admiration of the sozialwissenschaftlich fraction of those Kulturmenschen who only English know.' - W. G. Runciman, Times Literary Supplement
'The translation of Weber’s Wissenschaftslehre into English is a successful project upon which both editors and publisher are to be congratulated. At last Weber’s methodological writings are available in a careful translation, extended with other relevant texts and documents. Work can be done with these texts, for example making connections previously not possible or, as the editors hope, enriching the ‘headings’ presented in their Introduction through progressive re-reading, which will now be able to check the secondary literature related to these texts. No longer will those who command both English and German monopolise these texts. And in this achievement the editors have done a great service to the international study of the writings of Max Weber.' - Hubert Treiber, Max Weber Studies
'The book [is] the most authoritative and complete collection of Weber’s methodological writings, in any language, ever. It is a model of editing and translation.' Stephen Turner, European Journal of Sociology
