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Work #729 · Mid

The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism

Max Weber
1904-05 (essays); 1920 (revised) · German
Sociological essay · German sociology / Verstehende Soziologie

Weber's 1905 classic linking the Calvinist ethic to the spirit of modern capitalism

Attribute Fingerprint

Rows where works disagree are highlighted in gold. The full ontology grid is shown.

Attribute The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism (Mid)
Time · Extent Infinite
Time · Ontological Status Substantival
Time · Grain Continuous
Time · Freedom Non-Deterministic
Time · Traversability Linear
Time · Dimensionality One
Time · Direction Uni-directional
Space · Extent Infinite
Space · Ontological Status Substantival
Space · Curvature Flat
Space · Dimensionality Three
Space · Locality Local
Matter · Extent Infinite
Matter · Ontological Status Substantival
Matter · Conservation Conserved
Matter · Dimensionality Three
Matter · Locality Local
Observer · Time Instance Single
Observer · Space Instance Single
Observer · Knowledge Extent Partial
Observer · Knowledge Retainment Total
Observer · Physicality Embodied
Observer · Agency Both
Observer · Number Plural
Observer · Metaphysical Agency None
Observer · Moral Authority Tradition
Observer · Theological Method
Energy · Extent Infinite
Energy · Ontological Status Substantival
Energy · Conservation Conserved
Energy · Dispersibility Irreversible
Information · Ontological Status Substantival
Information · Cosmic Conservation Conserved
Information · Personal Conservation Conserved
Information · Granularity Continuous

Dimension-by-Dimension Evidence

What each work's passages reveal about its stance on each of the six dimensions.

Time

The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism

The historical emergence of capitalist rationality.

Space

The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism

The social space of Calvinist communities.

Matter

The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism

The embodied disciplined Protestant worker.

Observer

The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism

The Verstehende sociologist interpreting religious meaning.

Energy

The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism

Energies of inner-worldly asceticism.

Information

The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism

The religious ethic as cultural information.

Internal Tensions

Where each work's argument pulls against itself.

The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism

Weber's thesis: extensively debated (R. H. Tawney, Werner Sombart, modern revisionists); a touchstone of historical sociology of modernity.