Max Weber und die Systemtheorie

Max Weber's methodological individualism and his active criticism of collective terms still apply today. However, this paradigm does need to be updated. Every serious attempt to defend Weber's sociology today has to deal with the challenge presented by the systems theory. This has produced much more intricate works in the 20th century than those collectivist attempts which Weber had to deal with. In the theory of action and the systems theory, the basic problem of sociology is addressed, but this however has not led to clear positions. Thomas Schwinn explains three options in the current discussion on theories: paradigm competition, mono-paradigmatic claims and paradigm synthesis. In examining these positions, he defines Weber's sociology and enlarges on it.