MAX WEBER AND THE MOVE FROM THE “SCIENCE OF MAN” TO THE “SCIENCE OF EXPERIENCE”

Abstract

This article explores a possible movement in Weber’s work between what I call the “science of man,” which Weber inherited from the Historical School of Economics, and the “science of experience,” a science concerned with objectivity and with processes of empirical validation of knowledge in the wake of Kantism. While the first science is concerned with the “quality of man,” the second is concerned with logical questions and makes intellectual evidence and validation its distinguishing criteria. The possible transition from one science to the other appears in Weber’s work at the turn of the century, between his agrarian studies and his intellectual comeback, with methodological considerations made in connection with the production of Roscher and Knies. In this article, I will address some points of this possible passage to suggest that the movement implied here is a gesture toward methodological clarity by Weber.

Keywords Max Weber; Science of Man; Sociological Theory; Historic School of Economics; Logic of the Social Sciences