The intellectual influences on Max Webber helped shape his subjective perspective of sociology and human society. He used Marxism, Historicism, and Positivism to create his own methodological approaches to studying society, and believed that “sociology should be seen as the study of subjectively meaningful social actions” (Simmons, 2013, p. 203). Webber argued that the study of society “must be viewed from the perspective of an actor re-experiencing the same interactions of events” (Simmons, 2013, pp. 199-203); in order to accurately interpret facts of the events (such as observations, and external perspectives). This type of sociological experience Webber explains as “Verstehen (a technique for interpreting and understanding the meaning of a social action from the subjective perspective of an actor)” (Simmons, 2013, p. 199). His “methods of comparing cross-cultural and social historical analysis (known as the Ideal Type) uses a number of typical abstract of real cases” (Simmons, 2013, p. 205) to form conclusions and identify distinctions of the real world. Webber supported that scientists must re-observe, and re-experience abstract social events in order to obtain a more accurate perspective.
Simmons, T. (2013). Revitalizing the Classics: What Past Social theorists Can Teach Us Today. Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada: Fernwood Publishings.