Intellectual Work and the Spirit of Capitalism: Weber's Calling by Thomas Kemple (review)

Abstract

Book Reviews 301© Max Weber Studies 2017. (Stefan Breuer), prophets and prophecy (Bernhard Lang, Riesebrodt), asceticism (Hubert Treiber), and mysticism (Volkhard Krech), all of which would have been relevant for Buss’s work. There is no doubt that one cannot take into consideration all of the important literature on Weber’s sociology of religion, but these omissions seem striking. The book does have many positive attributes. For the most part, Buss’s explanations are relatively clear and free from technical terms and jargon. The book is clearly structured so that one can choose to focus on one major section of the book or to read to the work as a whole. And while Buss’s presentation of Christianity may seem shaky at times, it appears that he knows an impressive amount regarding many other religions. The Economic Ethics of World Religions and their Laws may not have so much to offer to the Weber scholar, but it does have much to give to the student who wishes to gain a proper overview of the various economic ethics that make up Weber’s comparative sociology of religion. Christopher Adair-Toteff University of South Florida Thomas Kemple, Intellectual Work and the Spirit of Capitalism: Weber’s Calling (Palgrave Macmillan, 2014), xiv + 266 pp. (hbk). ISBN 978-1137 -37713-5. $110.00. Thomas Kemple’s book ostensibly concerns Weber’s two well-known vocation lectures, delivered in 1917 and 1919, as well as a less known and earlier ‘talk’, namely Weber’s reply from the floor to Sombart’s address on ‘Technology and Culture’ presented to the German Society for Sociology conference in 1910. It does not matter that the last of these bears little relation to the vocation lectures in structure, purpose or context, because Kemple is concerned with an extrinsic concern of his own making, not Weber’s; namely, an exploration of ‘speech acts’ as sites of intellectual engagement as read through Weber’s performances as orator. In pursuing this theme, Weber’s charisma as a person and as a public persona is core to Kemple’s account of value freedom in Weber, and paradoxically the values underlying it, and also rationality as a trope of discourse. Kemple does not find the intellectual apparatus required to execute this fascinating and more-orless behind the scenes forensic excursion into Weber’s rhetoric style in Weber himself, but in an array of culture analysts who are brought to bear on Weber’s own assessment of classical and contemporary 302 Max Weber Studies© Max Weber Studies 2017. thinkers. The result is terse, dense, difficult, and at times obscure, as well as perceptive, enlightening, and surprisingly entertaining. A self-description on Kemple’s departmental website at the University of British Columbia, where he is a professor of sociology, indicates his research interests and approach: My research advances European and North American traditions of classical and contemporary social theory from the late 18th century to the present. Rather than focus on the scientific formulation and empirical testing of hypotheses, I emphasize the reappraisal of classic problems and the recovery of forgotten or undervalued ideas, texts, and authors in the history of the social sciences. I aim to show how rhetorical arguments, interpretive methods, and literary genres that contribute to the formation of concepts enhance the public significance and cultural relevance of thinking sociologically. This statement encapsulates a good deal that is represented in Intellectual Work and the Spirit of Capitalism: Weber’s Calling. Kemple’s concern for the non-obvious and underlying aspects of Weber’s calling, his rhetorical disposition and emotionalized engagement with currents of his day that we are told continue in our own, reflects Kemple ’s own affective style and focus. This is not to deny Kemple’s forceful intellectual engagement that is infused throughout this book, but more than anything Kemple disarmingly displays a pure and true love for Weber. This is not said lightly, nor flippantly. But to fail to acknowledge the fact fails to identify the source of Kemple’s energy, the care with which he reveals Weber’s sensibilities, and the sense of devotion in his characterization of Weber and his calling. It is appropriate here to reflect on...