In this blog post, we will examine the background against which Max Weber’s “categories of the sociology of understanding” were established, and explore the significance of concepts such as “subjective meaning,” “understanding,” “ideal types,” “instrumental rationality,” “consistency rationality,” “Gesellschaft relations,” and “mutual understanding relations” within Weber’s sociology. What...
What did Max Weber discuss in “Politics as a Vocation” and “Science as a Vocation”?
In this blog post, we will examine the historical context of the time, Weber’s life and thought, and the outline and structure of the two lectures—“Politics as a Vocation” and “Science as a Vocation”—that he delivered to university students amid the chaos of Germany as a defeated nation during and immediately after World War I, in order to better understand them. Historical Context The era...
Why Did Max Weber Speak of “Science as a Vocation”?
In this blog post, we will examine Max Weber’s thoughts on the meaning of scholarship, the attitude scholars should adopt, and political responsibility, focusing on his seminal lectures “Science as a Vocation” and “The Nation-State and Economic Policy.” What Does Scholarship Mean? This book contains the German sociologist Max Weber’s (1864–1920) seminal lectures, “Scholarship as a Vocation...
Why is Marx’s ‘Wage Labor and Capital’ considered the starting point for understanding the capitalist economy?
In this blog post, we will examine why Marx’s ‘Wage Labor and Capital’ is important for understanding Marxist economics and the structure of capitalist society, covering everything from the historical background of its writing and revisions to its core economic content. An Introductory Text for Understanding the Capitalist Economy When studying Marxist economics, it is almost...
Why Is Rudolf von Jhering’s ‘The Struggle for Law’ Still Read Today?
In this blog post, I will introduce Rudolf von Jhering’s ‘The Struggle for Law (Der Kampf um das Recht)’ and examine its core ideas. The book I reviewed this time is ‘Der Kampf um das Recht’ by Rudolf von Jhering, widely regarded as one of the greatest classics in the history of legal thought. Although many outstanding legal texts have been published to this day...
What Do the Keywords in ‘The Reader’ and the Historical Discourse of the War Generation Tell Us?
In this blog post, I’d like to examine the questions raised by the film, focusing on the foreshadowing, illiteracy, revisionist interpretations, and the historical discourse surrounding the postwar generation as depicted in ‘The Reader’. While serving as a public service worker, I found myself with some free time. Rather than investing it in self-improvement, I began watching...
How can people find a way to live again amid the hardships of a metropolis?
In this blog post, we’ll examine—through ‘Berlin Alexanderplatz’—the fate of people living amid the chaos, crime, and poverty of a metropolis, as well as the significance of the changes that take place within that context. The Metropolis as the Protagonist “Berlin Alexanderplatz” is Alfred Döblin’s masterpiece and one of the most important works of modern German literature...
How Should We Understand Goethe’s ‘Faust’?
In this blog post, I offer a simple, unbiased commentary on Goethe’s poetic drama ‘Faust’. Work Commentary Since this poetic drama ‘Faust’, to which Goethe devoted his entire life, may require some explanation for readers, I have provided a simple, unbiased commentary. This article is intended to aid general readers in appreciating the work and is not meant to...
What aspects of modern life does Goethe’s ‘Faust’ reveal through the tragedy of Gretchen?
In this blog post, we explore how Goethe exposes the conflicts of modern humanity and the contradictions of early capitalism through key scenes such as Gretchen’s sacrifice, Walpurgis Night, and the court masquerade ball. The ‘Iliad’ of Modern Life Written during the transition from late medieval feudal society to modern capitalist society and refined over the course of some 60...
What were Goethe’s life and literary world like?
In this blog post, we will examine Goethe’s life and major works, with a particular focus on the meaning behind ‘Faust’. Goethe’s Life and Works Johann Wolfgang von Goethe was born on August 28, 1749, in the Free City of Frankfurt am Main on the banks of the Main River as the eldest son of a distinguished family, and he passed away on March 22, 1832, in Weimar. When Goethe...