Values and Meaning: Max Weber’s Approach to the Idea of Ultimate Reality and Meaning

Abstract

An examination of ultimate reality & meaning in Max Weber's theory of values, his thesis being essentially that values are arbitrary & rationally unjustifiable. A biographical sketch of Weber, outlining his real-life tension between academic & political callings, as well as his nervous breakdown & the postbreakdown phase of his life, are presented. His views on ultimate reality & meaning are discussed in relation to The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism (1920 [for Parsons, Talcott (Tr), see SA 7:1 /595444]), emphasizing his theories on religion, & Western capitalism, & rationalization. Weber's sociology & emphasis on ethical neutrality for social science research is explored as well. 22 References.