Project:
What is Rational?
Weber, like Marx, is a social evolutionist who believes
there is change & it is natural, directional, immanent, continuous,
& derived from uniform causes. For Weber, the change is that individuals,
& especially society is becoming more rational. He makes this argument
in two manners. One through his own socio historical analysis of the progression
from the Ancient to the Middle Ages to the Modern Era. He claims the modern
era is more rationalized than the Middle Ages. The Middle Ages were more
rationalized than the Ancient Era, etc. Second through his analysis of
bureaucracy he shows how this organization of administration, the merit
system & more is more rational that the Middle Ages organizations of
favoritism, cronyism, patriarchy, & so on.
Discuss your own view on this. Give examples in ancient
& recent history to support your pt of view. If you can, give examples
of events in your own lifetime or those you know to support your pt of
view.
1. List some important decisions that you have made
or you know someone has made.
2. Which ones do you now consider rational or not?
3. Given what we have learned about rationality,
why were these decisions rational or not?
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