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Full Idea
There is no absolutely objective scientific analysis of 'social phenomena' independent of special and 'one-sided' viewpoints according to which expressly or tacitly, consciously or unconsciously they are selected and organised for expository purposes.
Gist of Idea
There is no objectivity in social sciences - only viewpoints for selecting and organising data
Source
Max Weber ('Objectivity' in Social Sciences and Social Policy [1904], p.72), quoted by Reiss,J/Spreger,J - Scientific Objectivity 5.1
Book Ref
'Stanford Online Encyclopaedia of Philosophy', ed/tr. Stanford University [plato.stanford.edu], p.23
A Reaction
Weber urged some objectivity by not judging agents' goals. Also see Idea 22367
Related Idea
Idea 22367 The results of social research can be true, and not just subjectively valid for one person [Weber]
| 21132 | Domination is probable obedience by some group of persons [Weber] |
| 22366 | There is no objectivity in social sciences - only viewpoints for selecting and organising data [Weber] |
| 22367 | The results of social research can be true, and not just subjectively valid for one person [Weber] |
| 20719 | Punish the heretic, but be indulgent to the sinner [Weber] |
| 20725 | The idea of duty in one's calling haunts us, like a lost religion [Weber] |
| 20722 | Acquisition and low consumption lead to saving, investment, and increased wealth [Weber] |
| 20724 | When asceticism emerged from the monasteries, it helped to drive the modern economy [Weber] |
| 20717 | Capitalism is not unlimited greed, and may even be opposed to greed [Weber] |
| 20718 | Modern western capitalism has free labour, business separate from household, and book-keeping [Weber] |
| 7082 | Nature requires causal explanations, but society requires clarification by reasons and motives [Weber, by Critchley] |
| 22155 | We are disenchanted because we rely on science, which ignores values [Weber, by Boulter] |