Inner-worldly asceticism was characterized by

Max Weber Maximilian Carl Emil Weber (; ; 21 April 186414 June 1920) was a German Sociology, sociologist, historian, jurist, and political economy, political economist who was one of the central figures in the development of sociology and the social sc ...

in ''

Economy and Society ''Economy and Society: An Outline of Interpretive Sociology'' (1921; ; or simply ''Economy and Society'') is a book by political economist and sociologist Max Weber, published posthumously in Germany by his wife Marianne. Alongside ''The Prot ...

'' as the concentration of human behavior upon activities leading to salvation within the context of the everyday world. He saw it as a prime influence in the emergence of

modernity Modernity, a topic in the humanities and social sciences, is both a historical period (the modern era) and the ensemble of particular Society, socio-Culture, cultural Norm (social), norms, attitudes and practices that arose in the wake of the ...

and the technological world, a point developed in ''

The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism ''The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism'' () is a book written by Max Weber, a German sociologist, economist, and politician. First written as a series of essays, the original German text was composed in 1904 and 1905, and was trans ...

''.

Four-fold typology

Weber's

typology A typology is a system of classification used to organize things according to similar or dissimilar characteristics. Groups of things within a typology are known as "types". Typologies are distinct from taxonomies in that they primarily address t ...

of religion set off the distinction between asceticism and

mysticism Mysticism is popularly known as becoming one with God or the Absolute (philosophy), Absolute, but may refer to any kind of Religious ecstasy, ecstasy or altered state of consciousness which is given a religious or Spirituality, spiritual meani ...

against that between inner-worldly and other-worldly orientations, to produce a four-fold set of religious types.Pawel Stefan Zaleski "Ideal Types in Max Weber’s Sociology of Religion: Some Theoretical Inspirations for a Study of the Religious Field", ''Polish Sociological Review'' No. 3(171)/2010 According to Talcott Parsons, otherworldly stances provided no leverage upon socio-economic problems, and inner-worldly mystics attached no significance to the material world surrounding them, the inner-worldly ascetic acted within the institutions of the world, while being opposed to them, and as an instrument of God. However Stefan Zaleski showed that inner-worldly mysticism that is magic was interested in active transformation of reality. In religions which can be characterized by inner-world-asceticim, the world appears to the religious virtuoso as his responsibility.Weber, Max. "Asceticism, Mysticism and Salvation." In ''Economy and society; an outline of interpretive sociology''.. New York: Bedminster Press, 1968. 542.

Rationalism

For Weber, the worldly ascetic is a rationalist. He rationalizes his own conduct but also rejects conduct which is specifically irrational, esthetic, or dependent upon his own emotional reactions to the world.Weber, Max. "Asceticism, Mysticism and Salvation." In ''Economy and society; an outline of interpretive sociology''.. New York: Bedminster Press, 1968. 544. Inner-worldly asceticism, including above all

Protestantism Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

, taught the fulfillment of obligations in the world as the sole method of proving religious merit. Its emphasis on the importance of one's calling encouraged the differentiation of life-spheres, while its rationality favoured an emphasis on

natural law Natural law (, ) is a Philosophy, philosophical and legal theory that posits the existence of a set of inherent laws derived from nature and universal moral principles, which are discoverable through reason. In ethics, natural law theory asserts ...

– further aspects enhancing the impact Weber postulated such asceticism had upon the development of

capitalism Capitalism is an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and their use for the purpose of obtaining profit. This socioeconomic system has developed historically through several stages and is defined by ...

, or rather the particular type of capitalism Weber saw as marked by "the rational organization and institutionalization of social relationships...rational bourgeois capitalism".

Criticism

Critics have challenged the validity of Weber's linking of Calvinism, and predestination in particular, with the emergence of the capitalist spirit; as well as more generally disputing any inherent or correlative link between Protestantism and capitalism.

Postmodernism Postmodernism encompasses a variety of artistic, Culture, cultural, and philosophical movements that claim to mark a break from modernism. They have in common the conviction that it is no longer possible to rely upon previous ways of depicting ...

in its repudiation of

metanarrative In social theory, a metanarrative (also master narrative, or meta-narrative and grand narrative; or ) is an overarching narrative about smaller historical narratives, which offers a society legitimation through the anticipated completion of a (a ...

s has rejected Weber's theory as one Eurocentric aspect of such grand tales; though

Fredric Jameson Fredric Ruff Jameson (April 14, 1934 – September 22, 2024) was an American literary critic, philosopher and Marxist political theorist. He was best known for his analysis of contemporary cultural trends, particularly his analysis of postmode ...

sees it as illuminating at least one facet of the bourgeois cultural revolutionM. Hardt/K. Weeks, ''The Jameson Reader'' (2005) p. 51—the psycho-sociological transformation that accompanied the move from

traditional A tradition is a system of beliefs or behaviors (folk custom) passed down within a group of people or society with symbolic meaning or special significance with origins in the past. A component of cultural expressions and folklore, common examp ...

agrarian society An agrarian society, or agricultural society, is any community whose economy is based on producing and maintaining crops and farmland. Another way to define an agrarian society is by seeing how much of a nation's total production is in agricultur ...

to the modern urban world-system.

References

External links

Deferred Gratification
{{Max Weber Asceticism Max Weber Sociology of religion

Four-fold typology

Rationalism

Criticism

See also

References

Further reading

External links