Weber Science & Politics as Vocations

8/12/2019 Weber Science & Politics as Vocations

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Max Weber:

Politics, Science and spiritual ideals

(An application of Webers analysis to the political

control of culture)

Max Weber delivered two lectures concerning the nature of what

he termed Politics and Science as two ways of viewing and dealing

with issues in society.

He uses the terms politics and science in very specific ways tocreate a distinction between the rational and the !ideal"spiritual#.

$o explore this% the first thing we need to do is establish Weber#s

understanding and approach to !politics#. He points out% that the

!political# way of viewing and dealing with issues can be defined thus&

We wish to understand by politics only the leadership%

or the influencing of the leadership ' of a state ' ($)hestate is a relation of men dominating men% a relation

supported by means of ' violence. *f the state is to

exist% the dominated must obey the authority claimed

by the powers that be. +Weber% ,--,% p% /01.

Weber therefore has a very pessimistic view of politics% this is

made apparent through his use of terms such as !power#% !violence#

and !domination#.

' politics operates with very special means% namely%

power bac2ed up by violence. +ibid% p% ,,-1.

Weber argues that politics is in no way concerned with the pursuit

of high ideals and truth& on the contrary it is only concerned with

the manipulation and !play# of words& carried out by power/mongers

in the search for !power#.

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3s far as he is concerned% the development of !4aw# and its close

alignment to politics is no mista2e% as this relationship allows for a

!violence# of language to ta2e hold where certain powerful people

manipulate the means of control.

Politics in this sense is exclusively concerned with the mundane and

functional organisation of physical and economic life in society.

Political society re5uires regulation% discipline and organisation in

order to function.

6or Weber politics is a !soulless# entity that serves simply to

manipulate% regulate and control.

He is careful to point out that this is the only way that politics can

be7 he has no belief in idealistic or utopian solutions unli2e the

Marxists. (for Weber a revolution would only lead to a different

type of control).

His lecture on !science# ta2es on a different guise to that of politics&Weber presents the argument that science can and should be of a

!higher# calling to political vocation.

$he distinction created by Weber between politics and science

appears to be that politics is concerned with the en/masse/mundane%

science is presented as something as having the potential to be a

!deep# and personal calling.

Weber ma2es an important distinction between a mediocre !low#

science% whose area of concern is similar to that of Politics7 and the

idea of a !high# science% which is inspired% soulful and !artistic#

having the potential for the highest pursuit of !truth and beauty#.

Weber develops the idea of a 2ind of scientific/philosopher hero%

who pursues ideals 8ust for the sa2e of doing so.

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$o put across his idea of !high# science% Weber refers to Plato#s cave

/ in the cave% men are !chained# and positioned in such a way that

they can only face the rear wall of the cave7 and as such are only

able to view shadows on the wall created by the sun.

However% one man is able to brea2 free of the chains% and he turns

round to loo2 at the source of the light% but he is blinded by its

truth and beauty% and in his frantic attempts to relay what he saw

to the others he is branded as !mad#.

With this then% we are able to attain a brief glimpse of the 2ind of

science which Weber has in mind something which is strenuously

set apart from the political.

$owards the end of this section on science% Weber again paints a

5uite blea2 and pessimistic picture of the !actual# ability of people to

effectively enter into this realm of !high# science.

Weber leaves us with the following scenario7 either& the

abandonment of !truth# and a life of soulless mundanity in the!political#7 or% a return to one of the established paths to spiritual

!freedom#&

$he ' love of humanity and goodness% whether

stemming from 9a:areth or 3ssisi or from *ndian royal

castles% have not operated with the political means of

violence. $heir 2ingdom was !not of this world# and yet

they wor2ed and still wor2 in this world ' He who see2sthe salvation of the soul% of his own and of others%

should not see2 it along the avenue of politics% for the

5uite different tas2s of politics can only be solved by

violence. +ibid% p% ,;


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Weber#s authentic idea of !high# science is indeed comparative to

Plato#s !lover/of/the/beautiful# in the sense that a science of

Weber#s 2ind could only be carried out by a scientist who is also

(and above all) a lover/of/the/beautiful.

Maybe !science# in a Platonic sense alluded to by Weber% is not and

never can be some/!thing# that can be reduced down to the crude%

restricting and !violent# organisational principles of politics.

3rguably% Weberian utopian science inspired by beauty% hope and

love in search of !truth#% is nothing whatsoever to do with the boring

and practical aspects of physically organising the mundane orpolitical routines of everyday life.

*t appears to me that this may well be the stuff of Weberian/

Platonic science something of another realm% something deeper

and older7 more profound% universally personal and illusive than

anything tangible modern society (en/masse) has or can politically

create.

How i'ht Webers idea of science be applied to culture&

iblio'raphy

=oethe% E. W. +,-->1 6aust

$rans. 3nna Swanwic2

?over $hrift Aditions

Plato% +,---1 $he essential Plato$rans. Cen8amin Eowett

Ad& 3. ?e Cottom

$he Soft Cac2 Preview

Weber% M. +,--,1 Politics as a Focation7 and Science as a Focation

*n& 6rom Max Weber& Assays in Sociology

Adited by H. H. =erth D G. Wright Mills

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Weber Science & Politics as Vocations

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