Occidental rationalism in Max Weber's sociology of music

Abstract

The paper views rationalism as a central category of an entire sociological endeavor of Max Weber in two dimensions: through the progress of mind in the understanding of 'the nature of things' and overcoming the resistance posed to the mind on that path by nature itself on the one hand, and through the struggle against irrationality of the very social beliefs and institutions which have gathered in history, on the other. When it comes to the first dimension, rationalization of music begins with the solving of the problem of the division of the octave (which cannot be divided symmetrically into equal parts) and ends in the obstruction of the 'spiral' effect of intervals which the octave is composed of. (in order to ensure undisturbed successive or 'circular' lining of octaves). The other dimension is problematise in the relation with the ascetic ethics and the spirit of pentatonics, which is presented as similar to the relation between protestant ethics and the spirit of capitalism, only without the positive rationalist contributions of ascetic ethics.