Weber’s listening: Non-purposive figures in Weber

Abstract

The article attempts to uncover non-intentional impulses in Weber’s sociology that are at odds with his ‘official’ theory of action and with textbook understandings of ‘interpretative’ Weberian sociology. In the first part of the article, I critically sketch what I take to be central dogmas in Weberian thought and in the literature blocking for new or different interpretations of his work and his concept of calling. In the second part of the article, I investigate the concept of personality in late Weber, his picture of creativity in scientific (and political) practice and his concept of charisma and charismatic inspiration. I try to demonstrate that Weber’s reflections in all three cases are grounded in non-intentional figures, and that this grounding runs counter to the dualist, Cartesian and Kantian vocabulary pervading much of his work. I even try to find such figures in Weber’s account of puritanism. In conclusion, I assess the wider significance of my findings for our image of Weber and the merits of his sociology.