Aufklärende Rationalisierung. Ein Versuch, Max Weber neu zu interpretieren by Wolfgang Hellmich (review)

Abstract

282 Max Weber Studies Kohler and Winckelmann did not have so they could not take advantage of the p task of compiling an index easier. Altho toph Morlok have been able to utilize co still must have cost them considerable In 1922 Werner Siebeck wrote that he f index' for Wirtschaft und Gesellschaft co the 'Vorwort' to this volume Wolfgang that this index probably does not live the Gesamtregister comes very close to Morlok to thank for providing us with an those by Kohler or Winckelmann. Schlu will be useful to scholars is more than ful certainly a very useful tool, but it is muc bers reveal statistics that should make us reconsider some of our beliefs about what Weber considered important. Since Weber was convinced that we should base our scholarship on facts and not on beliefs, there should be little doubt that Max Weber would approve of this Gesamtregister. Christopher Adair-Toteff University of South Florida/University of Kent Christopher Adair-Toteff Wolfgang Hellmich, Aufklärende Rationalisierung. Ein Versuch, Max Weber neu zu interpretieren (Berlin: Duncker & Humblot, 2013), 278 pp. (pbk). ISBN 978-3-428-13906-4. €69.90. The first sentence of Aufklärende Rationalisierung contains the bold claim that this study intends to interpret Max Weber in a new way. Wolfgang Hellmich immediately adds that his effort is going to be more modest than the claim suggests, but he also insists that his path to interpreting Weber must be regarded as new. It is new because it is neither 'orthodox', like Wolfgang Schluchter's approach, nor is it 'heterodox', like Wilhelm Hennis's. Hellmich regards Weber as an enlightening figure, and he spends most of his book attempting to show how Weber's 'enlightening rationalization' fits with much of the Western philosophical tradition, especially Kant. Hellmich sees traces of a number of other philosophers in Weber's conception of enlightening and his emphasis on reason, including Hegel, Nietzsche and William James. To support his contention, Hellmich focuses on Weber's less well-known works and shows the familiar ones in a new© Max Weber Studies 2015. Book Reviews 283 light. He maintains that it is impo correspondence but he insists tha 'Herrschaftssoziologie', 'Religion While he is correct about the impo in neglecting those critically impo claim is a major one and his 'new i intriguing observations. Unfortu inherent contradictions which le The larger issue for his interpreta shared these philosophers' belief in he did not share their enthusiasm Hellmich is worth reading for h ity to Kant's notion of enlighten Kant emphasized the importanc need to think for one's self. Kant's in Weber's insistence that one mus haps even more than Kant, Web reject myths. In short, Weber war to act like the grown-ups that the that Weber acknowledged that inte age cannot be expected to be found cannot live up to that standard o movie. For both Kant and Web against deceit by others as well as While Hellmich is quite correct Kant believed in the importance less correct in his assessment of Weber's and Kant's stances on ethics. Kant is famous for his Categorical Imperative with its prin ciple that every rational being can and should act ethically; Weber is well-known for his two types of ethics: the 'ethics of conviction', by which one acts solely upon principles, and the 'ethics of respon sibility', by which one considers likely consequences. Furthermore, Kantian ethics eliminate irrational factors, while Weber's thinking incorporates them. Finally, Kant's ethical doctrine is almost inhu manly strict, but Weber's is most certainly not. Hellmich believes that there are fundamental areas of agreement between Weber and the American pragmatists, and he cites Weber's interest in America as partial proof. Weber's concern with empiri cal studies and his demand for conceptual clarity do tend to line up with pragmatist philosophy and there is little doubt that Weber was impressed with William James. However, his interest was primarily© Max Weber Studies 2015. 284 Max Weber Studies in the Varieties of Religious Experience a losophy. What makes Hellmich's assert insistence that Weber is like the pragmat of the 'minor' type. Hellmich...