Weber and Rickert: Concept Formation in the Cultural Sciences (Studies in Contemporary German Social Thought)

Max Weber's formulation of basic methodological issues has long attracted the attention of philosophers and social scientists. Both will welcome this highly original analysis, which focuses on the troublesome problem of the objectivity of social science the principal concern of Weber's methodological writing. Guy Oakes traces the vital connection of Weber's work to that of philosopher Heinrich Rickert. He lucidly reconstructs Rickert's notoriously difficult concepts in order to isolate the important, and until now poorly understood roots of problems in Weber's own work."Weber and Rickert "adds a new dimension to the understanding of Max Weber by illuminating his relationship to the Southwest German school of neoKantianism and to Rickert. It also introduces Rickert's philosophy, which is currently enjoying renewed interest in Europe, to English speaking readers.The book offers a remarkably accessible exposition of Rickert's theory of values. Oakes breaks through Rickert's high level of abstraction by imaginatively drawing on Kierkegaard's concrete moral tale "Diary of a Seducer "to provide a clear understanding of the way in which Rickert failed to solve the problem of the objectivity of values. His critique of Rickert challenges the methodological basis of Weber's solution to the problem of objectivity, elevating the discussion surrounding Weber's methodology to a new level and opening the way for provocative discourse.Guy Oakes has translated works by Max Weber, Georg Simmel, and Heinrich Rickert, as well as Carl Schmitt's "Political Romanticism. "He teaches social philosophy at Monmouth College and sociology at the New School for Social Research. "Weber and Rickert: Concept Formationin the Cultural Sciences" is included in the series Studies in Contemporary German Social Thought, edited by Thomas McCarthy.