The Concept of Adequacy in Sociology: Johannnes von Kries, Max Weber and Alfred Schutz
Type
book section
Date Issued
2019-10
Author(s)
Editor(s)
Wagner, Gerhard
Abstract
The aim of this chapter is to describe how Johannes von Kries’s theory of adequacy
found its way into sociology and to reconstruct what has become of it since then. The
key person was Max Weber, one of the most eminent classics of sociology as a scientific
discipline. Weber dedicated much of his work to methodological questions of the social
sciences, spurred by the dispute over methods (Methodenstreit) in economics and
Wilhelm Dilthey’s juxtaposition between natural sciences and humanities. In search of
a suitable theory of causality, Weber adopted Kries’s concept of adequate causation and
applied it to the explanation of historical events and eventually made it a methodological
requirement of sociological explanations. It is safe to say that it was Weber who imported
Kries’s theory of adequacy into sociology, and most sociologists found their way to
Kries through Weber. However, Weber extended the concept of adequacy considerably
by pairing causal adequacy with meaning-adequacy. Due to the enormous impact of his
work, adequacy is still an important methodological concept in present-day sociology,
above all in the phenomenological tradition of Alfred Schutz. But compared to Kries’s
theory, the concept has changed its meaning considerably. This chapter attempts to
outline this development.
found its way into sociology and to reconstruct what has become of it since then. The
key person was Max Weber, one of the most eminent classics of sociology as a scientific
discipline. Weber dedicated much of his work to methodological questions of the social
sciences, spurred by the dispute over methods (Methodenstreit) in economics and
Wilhelm Dilthey’s juxtaposition between natural sciences and humanities. In search of
a suitable theory of causality, Weber adopted Kries’s concept of adequate causation and
applied it to the explanation of historical events and eventually made it a methodological
requirement of sociological explanations. It is safe to say that it was Weber who imported
Kries’s theory of adequacy into sociology, and most sociologists found their way to
Kries through Weber. However, Weber extended the concept of adequacy considerably
by pairing causal adequacy with meaning-adequacy. Due to the enormous impact of his
work, adequacy is still an important methodological concept in present-day sociology,
above all in the phenomenological tradition of Alfred Schutz. But compared to Kries’s
theory, the concept has changed its meaning considerably. This chapter attempts to
outline this development.
Language
English
HSG Classification
contribution to scientific community
HSG Profile Area
SHSS - Kulturen, Institutionen, Maerkte (KIM)
Refereed
Yes
Book title
The Legacy of Johannes von Kries: A Transdisciplinary Survey
Publisher
Harrassowitz
Publisher place
Wiesbaden
Start page
119
End page
135
Pages
17
Subject(s)
Division(s)
Eprints ID
257180