Differences

This shows you the differences between two versions of the page.

--- 2667:4 [2015/03/19 20:48] – [Max Weber, key ideas about religion] Ryan Schram (admin)
+++ 2667:4 [2021/06/29 02:27] (current) – external edit 127.0.0.1
@@ Line 11: / Line 11: @@
 ryan.schram@sydney.edu.au
-March 26, 2015
+March 29, 2017
+Available at http://anthro.rschram.org/2667/4
 ### Readings ###
@@ Line 18: / Line 19: @@
 Palmer, Susan J. 2010. “The Twelve Tribes: Preparing the Bride for Yahshua’s Return.” Nova Religio: The Journal of Alternative and Emergent Religions 13 (3): 59–80. doi:10.1525/nr.2010.13.3.59.
-### Recommended reading ###
+### Other readings ###
 Bell, Catherine. 2009. Ritual: Perspectives and Dimensions--Revised Edition. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
@@ Line 26: / Line 27: @@
 ### Other media ###
+Speigel, Alix. 2011. “Why Cleaned Wastewater Stays Dirty In Our Minds.” Morning Edition. National Public Radio. http://www.npr.org/2011/08/16/139642271/why-cleaned-wastewater-stays-dirty-in-our-minds.
 “The Twelve Tribes: The Official Website of the Twelve Tribes Communities.” 2013. http://twelvetribes.org/. Accessed 2 February 2015.
 [[:twelve_tribes|More information on the Twelve Tribes.]]
-## Durkheim and Weber, two daimons on my shoulders ##
-I like to think of Emile Durkheim and Max Weber as two little [[http://classics.mit.edu/Plato/apology.html|daimon]]s who sit on each of my shoulders, each whispering different things in
-my ears.
-* Durkheim looks at society as a totality.
-* Weber looks at society as something that develops out individual
+## Recycled water
-patterns of action.
+Why did the cave story change people's minds?
+Speigel, Alix. 2011. “Why Cleaned Wastewater Stays Dirty In Our Minds.” Morning Edition. National Public Radio. http://www.npr.org/2011/08/16/139642271/why-cleaned-wastewater-stays-dirty-in-our-minds.
-* Durkheim says that patterns of action are social facts. That is why
-they matter.
-* Weber says that social patterns and institutions form because social actions have a meaning to the
-actor and to the society at large. Social institutions and structures are particualr ways of embodying all the things that people in society value.
 ## Types of social action ##
@@ Line 51: / Line 51: @@
 * Affective: Emotionally motivated action, personally meaningful
   action.
-* Value-rational: The pursuit of a collective good or goal.
+* Value-rational (*Wertrational*): The pursuit of a collective good or goal.
-* Instrumentally rational: Getting the best deal. Means-ends calculation.
+* Instrumentally rational (*Zweckrational*): Getting the best deal. Means-ends calculation.
 For Weber some actions, and some societies, are more rational than others. This is how Ortner looks at avoidance of pollution. It is a "rational" way of acting. It is an effort to make sense of the world and one's place in it. For Weberians, religion in general is a very important and very special type of social action.
+## Quiz: What types of social action best describe these activities? ##
+* Brushing your teeth
+* Waiting for the train on the platform
+* Waiting for people to get off before you get on
+* Helping a woman with a stroller get on the train
+* Buying a friend a coffee as a "treat"
+* Signing a petition to end offshore detention
+* Donating money to the Salvation Army for Cyclone Winston
+* Buying ramen noodles on campus and heating them up in the Learning Hub
+Talk to each other about the best Weberian types of social action to classify these activities. Do you agree?
+## What is our analysis of these activities? ##
+Was it clear which Weberian type applied to which action? Why or why not?
+How would you classify these actions?
+* Praying in a church
+* Sacrificing a pig
+* Baptizing an adult
+* Handing out religious literature on a street corner
+* Meditating
+* Avoiding contact with alcohol or another prohibited, 'dirty' substance.
+In other words, if religion is social, and religious activities are also social actions, what kind of social action are they?
+Are all religious activities motivated by the same kinds of social meanings?
+Do all religious forms, institutions or belief systems reflect the same social values?
+## Durkheim and Weber, two daimons on my shoulders ##
+I like to think of Emile Durkheim and Max Weber as two little [[http://classics.mit.edu/Plato/apology.html|daimon]]s who sit on each of my shoulders, each whispering different things in
+my ears.
+* Durkheim looks at society as a totality.
+* Weber looks at society as something that develops out individual
+patterns of action.
+* Durkheim says that patterns of action are social facts. That is why
+they matter.
+* Weber says that social patterns and institutions form because social actions have a meaning to the
+actor and to the society at large. Social institutions and structures are particualr ways of embodying all the things that people in society value.
@@ Line 101: / Line 147: @@
 ## A table of four types of religion ##
-^               ^ mystical          ^ ascetic ^
+{{ :2667:ideal_types_of_religion.png | Four ideal types of ethical religions }}
-| this-worldly  | Improve the world | Control the world, starting with yourself. |
-| other-worldly | Abandon the world | Renounce the world. |
 (after Bell 2009: 178 and Weber 1946 [1915]: 325)