Deck 4: Max Weber

Question 1

Whose work does Weber place great weight upon, stating "the intellectual world in which we live is a world which to a large extent bears the imprint of _______"

A)John Calvin and Martin Luther
B)Immanuel Kant Heinrich Rickert
C)Emile Durkheim and Karl Marx
D)Friedrich Nietzsche and Karl Marx

Answer 1

D

Question 2

Weber used ________ as "pure" categories that serve as a methodological comparison to real-life cases.

A)dialectical materialism
B)Verstehen
C)ideal types
D)solidarity

Answer 2

C

Question 3

One of the major themes running through Weber's work is:

A)The source of crime
B)The rationalization of society
C)The evils of capitalism
D)Forms of solidarity

Answer 3

B

Question 4

What concept does Weber define as "the chance of a man or of a number of men to realize their own will in a social action even against the resistance of others…"?

A)party
B)class
C)power
D)status

Question 5

According to Max Weber, religion has helped to foster what process?

A)secularization of the individual
B)alienation by function
C)rationalization of reality
D)subordination by doctrine

Question 6

What was the significance of Martin Luther and the Protestant Reformation?

A)it married capitalism to religious belief
B)to glorify God was every individual's duty
C)religion was placed in the hands of professional clergy
D)religion was now based upon rational authority

Question 7

Weber argued that distinct interests are connected to economic:

A)rationality
B)status
C)classes
D)charisma

Question 8

Which of the following statements are true regarding Weber's work in The Social Psychology of the World Religions?

A)religious aims are really distorted class interests
B)religion shapes practical behavior
C)religion acts to deify society
D)religion actually do not satisfy psychological needs

Question 9

Which of the following was not one of the religions Weber looked at in his work The Social Psychology of the World Religions?

A)Hinduism
B)Judaism
C)Christianity
D)Islam

Question 10

In The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism, Weber quotes __________ in order to understand ____________.

A)Benjamin Franklin; the spirit of capitalism
B)Martin Luther King Jr.; the Protestant Ethic
C)George Washington; the spirit of capitalism
D)Abraham Lincoln; the Protestant Ethic

Question 11

People who share "life chances" or possibilities are labeled what by Weber?

A)class
B)party
C)status
D)authority

Question 12

Weber used the term "iron cage" to describe:

A)the Church prior to the Protestant Reformation
B)the dominance of capitalistic and bureaucratic structures and disenchantment of modern western society
C)the religious motivation that encourages individuals to pursue worldly success
D)monastic or religious asceticism (self-denial)

Question 13

Weber's vision of sociology casts Verstehen as the principal objective. Verstehen means:

A)insight
B)individual perspective
C)interpretative understanding
D)intersubjectivity

Question 14

According to the text, Max Weber's basic theoretical orientation is:

A)nonrational, collective
B)nonrational, individual
C)rational, collective
D)rational, individual

Question 15

Which of the following best reflects Weber's view of the relationship between Protestantism and capitalism in the 16^th -18^th centuries:

A)The Protestant Reformation caused Western capitalism to emerge
B)Western capitalism caused the Protestant Reformation to emerge
C)The attitude at the heart of Protestantism had an elective affinity with the attitude at the heart of capitalism
D)Western capitalism was the brainchild of Protestant reformer John Calvin

Question 16

Weber defines rationalization as:

A)the tendency for an increasing number of individuals in modern societies
B)to become more tolerant, educated, and well-rounded
C)the attempt on the part of capitalists to create divisions within the working class
D)an ongoing process in which social interaction and institutions become increasingly governed by methodical procedures and calculable rules

Question 17

Weber interpreted religious beliefs as

A)an opiate for the masses
B)a way to worship society itself
C)a way to explain the existence of suffering
D)a system of totems and symbols

Question 18

Max Weber addressed the relationship between religion and which of the following in his work The Social Psychology of the World Religions?

A)verstehen
B)economic ethics
C)forces of production
D)anomie

Question 19

Religions founded in which of the following prophecies lead adherents away from workaday life by seeking salvation through extraordinary psychic states?

A)exemplary
B)extraordinary
C)emissary
D)expectancy

Question 20

In discussing the connection between the Protestant ethic and the spirit of capitalism, Weber discusses the importance of this concept in motivating individuals to pursue worldly success

A)religiosity
B)Calvinism
C)reformation
D)calling

Question 21

Religions based on the emissary prophecy lead adherents away from workaday life by seeking salvation through extraordinary psychic states.

Question 22

Which type of authority is primarily individualistic:

A)charismatic
B)rational-legal
C)traditional
D)modern

Question 23

Hitler could be considered someone who led by charismatic authority.

Question 24

According to Weber, religion fills a psychological need of the fortunate to legitimize their good fortune.

Question 25

The notion of the calling began capitalism as an economic form.

Question 26

Weber believed that ultimately religion could be reduced to the distorted interests of class.

Question 27

Weber agreed with Marx that economic practical behavior shapes religious doctrines.

Question 28

Ideal types are conceptual yardsticks used to examine social processes.

Question 29

According to Weber, the most tenuous (or unstable) type of the authority is:

A)charismatic
B)rational-legal
C)traditional
D)legitimate

Question 30

Weber defines traditional authority as

A)legitimacy based on the rule of "eternal yesterday"
B)type of domination based on the rule of law and obedience owed to the office
C)legitimacy based on the rulers "state of grace"
D)the primary source of rationalization is modern societies

Question 31

Weber defines ________ as an estimation of social honor expressed through styles of life or conventions

A)party
B)class
C)traditional authority
D)status

Question 32

Weber agreed with Marx's definition of class.

Question 33

Which of the following is not a fundamental characteristic of "bureaucracy", according to Weber:

A)impersonal rules
B)written documents/files
C)hierarchy of authority
D)charisma

Question 34

U.S. presidents preside via rational-legal authority.

Question 35

______ is the type of domination based on the rule of law and obedience owed to the office

A)class struggle
B)rational-legal authority
C)charismatic authority
D)moral authority

Question 36

Weber's basic theoretical orientation is rational and individual.

Question 37

From Weber's view, religions offer redemption, countering a "senseless" world with a belief that there is ultimately meaning in the cosmos.

Question 38

According to Weber, rationalization disenchants Western society and creates an "iron cage."

Question 39

Weber defines a "class" as a group that not only shares the same economic situation, but also has a strong sense of community.

Question 40

People who share "life chances" are considered a party.

Question 41

Explain and provide examples for the four features which ensure bureaucracy's technical superiority.

Question 42

According to Weber, what role did the "calling" and outward signs of grace play in the development of capitalism? Once it was firmly established, what effect did capitalism have on these religious ideas?

Question 43

Bureaucratic organization has advanced primarily due to its technical superiority.

Question 44

Explain Weber's definition of power and how it relates to the political community. Provide contemporary and historical examples.

Question 45

Explain the significance of Weber's line from The Protestant Ethic, "And this calling is not, as it was for the Lutheran, a fate to which he must submit and which he must make the best of, but God's commandment to the individual to work for the divine glory."

Question 46

Compare and contrast Weber's themes and theoretical orientation with that of Karl Marx. Be sure to discuss Marx's historical materialism and definition of classes.

Question 47

Discuss the calling. What was Martin Luther's role with it?

Question 48

Explain Weber's notion of Verstehen and its significance to the discipline of sociology.

Question 49

Discuss Weber's essay on bureaucracy. Explain the negative and positive attributes of this system. Also explain its role in Weber's concept of "iron cage."

Question 50

Discuss which concept Weber is referring to with his line, "..have become the dominant form of social organization in modern society."

Question 51

Compare and contrast Weber's types of legitimate domination. Discuss specifically each type's strengths and weaknesses. Be sure to provide contemporary concrete examples of each type.

Question 52

Explain the following types of authority (rational/legal, traditional, charismatic) as discussed by Weber, using concrete contemporary examples.

Question 53

Explain why Max Weber quotes Benjamin Franklin within The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism.

Question 54

Discuss Weber's ideas from the Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism. Include specific quotations from the text to support your essay.

Question 55

Choose one of Weber's concepts (class, status, or party), define it and give a contemporary example.