Chapter Three: Max Weber

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1. Key Concepts & Definitions

   • Concept: Social Action

     • My definition: Behavior that individuals engage in to which they attach a subjective meaning, taking into account the behavior of others and thereby being oriented in its course.

   • Concept: The Protestant Ethos

     • My definition: A spirit of disciplined labor, frugality, and self-control that emerged from Calvinist doctrines, which eventually became the moral justification for capitalist accumulation.

   • Concept: Ideal Types

     • My definition: Analytical constructs or pure models created by sociologists to simplify and categorize complex social realities for better comparison and study.

   • Concept: Rationalization

     • My definition: The historical process where traditional or emotional motivations for action are replaced by logic, calculation, and efficiency, primarily seen in the rise of bureaucracy.

   • Concept: Value Neutrality

     • My definition: The requirement that sociologists keep their personal political or moral biases out of the classroom and research to maintain scientific objectivity.