ウェーバー宗教社会学における合理主義的方法論と「非合理的なるもの」
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概要
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Weber's Sociology of Religion is a comparative study of the World's religions. It is a historic analysis on a magnificent scale, whose main concern is ultimately to attempt to provide an explanation for the cultural problems of the modern period. This thesis intends to clarify the concepts concerning 'the rational' in Max Weber as a means to extract the 'non-rational' elements as well as the people's desire for the values, which he thought had a strong influence on history. Conventionally, it is thought that Weber pictured the future world to be extremely rationalized. He predicted a world where an 'iron cage' would cover the people's lives, oppress their liberty, and strip value from their lives and the world. In fact, Weber thought the cause of problems in the modern world stems from the gulf and the tension between the rationalized world and the world that is not totally rationalized. As Weber labored on practical economic issues, he realized that he should not only consider the economic rules which act upon these economic issues, but also focus on the causal association between these economic rules and Man's economic activities. He needed to consider 'non-rational' elements (elements that cannot be explained by science, such as: the meanings of life and death, art, culture, religion and so on) and incorporate these elements into his analysis from the beginning. Weber's rational methodology was formulated to derive these 'non-rational' elements. His study is based on the hypothesis that historical conditions affect the direction of the later age, especially the condition that relates to the religious ethic. Weber recognized the importance of taking Man's behavior and way of thinking into consideration when analyzing economics and the modern capitalism. The fact that he was aware of the historical effect of these non-rational elements shows that he did not consider that the world would become an extremely rationalized society in the future. Instead, he recognized the power of the 'idea', which always directs the course of history. 'Idea' is the attitude or the way of thinking, shared by many people of the same period or culture, and characterizes the atmosphere of the age. It consists of many non-rational elements that preoccupy the people's minds. It is most remarkable that Weber gave importance to the historical affect of the non-rational elements, not just the process or the phenomena of rationalization itself. The problems concerning culture and human liberties remain unsolved today. However, Weber's attempt at solving the universal question gives us an important viewpoint for studying the cultural and social problems of our age.