Rationalization And The Living Condition Of Human

Rationalization and the living condition of human is the core of Weber's thoughts. Now, internal and external researchers more pay attention to the connotation and classification of rationalization, however, they attach importance to the living condition of human not enough, which cause the research on the problem of rationalization and the living condition of human to have meaning. This research is of benefit not only to understand the thoughts of Weber more completely and deeply but also to answer the challenge of modernization and rationalization in the new situation. Linking the problem about rationalization with the problem about living condition of human, beginning social action theory,this text overall present the rationalization thoughts including culture, economic, political and law.Weber's rationalization thought is not a pure experience description, but a kind construction of ideal-type. The study road of Weber is based on his definition on the category, study method and purpose of the social science. The idea of Weber inherits Windelband and Rickert who are Neo-Kantian, which make Weber to be a Neo-Kantian. The construction of ideal-type supplies a theory foundation for Weber's analysis on capitalism problem and an analysis road for western social thinkers. And it takes Weber into a pessimistic position on rationalization.Based On this, Weber sets up his speech system. Being the speech basis of Max Weber's rationalization thoughts, social action theory take essential influence on Max Weber's thoughts. Max Weber divides social action into four kinds including purposive rational action, value rational action, emotional action and traditional action. In these kinds, purposive rational action and value rational action belong to rational action, and emotional action and traditional action belong to irrational action. The produce and the development of capitalist society in western is the process of human action from irrational to rational. Rationalization is the radical characteristic of it. In the process, purposive rational action and value rational action produce contradiction. Max Weber reveals the living condition of human, which embodys four aspects including culture, economic, political and law.From comparing the influence on capitalism of eastern religion ethics and wetern religion ethics, Max Weber thinks that rational culture beginning the Protestant ethics in western affects deeply the living condition of human, which is the inherent power of society in western development capitalism earliest and show peculiarity of western civilization. Rational culture produce modern consciousness structure and cause the lost of culture unity meaning. This is a value pluralism age, which is the effect of rational social action and is the effect of contradiction between purposive rational action and value rational action.In economic field, growing up of residents of a city, development of city, rationalization of monetary system, swift development of industry technology all produce an important influence on economic. Fixed capital, free labour, rational special labour and labour unite, labour service distribution of pure circulate economy, and rational management based on the capitalism seeking profits economic are the essential characteristics of capitalism economy. In the high degree formal rational economy, economic benefit is the only rule of human action, which results in the change of traditional social relationship,the contradiction of effective demand and actually demand and the contradiction of planned economy and circulate economy. The two contradictions embody the contradiction of form rational and substantive rational.In political field, the domination type experiences a rationalization process from charisma domination to traditional domination to legality domination in the modern society. With the changing of domination type, human living condition is changing. In the type of charisma domination, social relationship based on the nature of appropriate and actual evendence is personal, as emotional action, which is a irrational action. The characteristics of the type of charisma domination decide it only to be in primitive society and can not keep long. With the development of rationalization, the feverish on leader in the charisma domination will be replaced by rational analysis and measure. In the type of traditional domination, governor is obeyed to traditional rule and holiness not to its personality, which results in the basis of governor's authoritativeness from pure personality to a holy traditional rule. In the type of legality domination, governor's authoritativeness come from a kind rational and clear and definite law rule. Weber illustrates the caracteristics and influence of type of legality domination with bureaucrat system. Weber thinks that bureaucrat system have two sides influence. One of it is that it promotes the democracy and equality of human, and the other side is that it astricts the creativeness and autonomy of human, then make human to lost freedom. The lost of freedom embodies the contradiction between formal rationalization and substantive rationalization. Facing the disadvantage of bureaucrat system, Max Weber puts forward some proposal. These proposals can restrict the disadvantage of bureaucrat system. But they can not overcome difficult position of rationalization.In law field, Weber regards that subjective law and objective law all go through a development process from irrational to rational. The invention of law, the discovery of law, the method of legal create, the characteristics of legal thinking or legal education, and political power all produce influence on the formal rational and logical of law. With the development of formal rational on law in western, the degree of substantive rational law is fading, which results in Weber's judgement on law corresponding to his judgement on economy and politics.The rationalization of culture, economic, political, and law produce important influence in the change of traditional living method. In modern society, purposive rational and formal rational actions are popular, while value rational and substantive rational action are wither, which is the difficult position of rationalization and living of human. The difficult position of rationalization is the reflaction of the contradiction inside rationalization. These are the pessimistic opinions on rationalization and the human living condition of Weber.Facing the difficult positon of rationalization and the living condition of human, Weber draws a pessimistic conclusion on rationalization and modernization. These come from his unilateral relation model. Weber ignores the dialectical nature in rationalization, which overlook the discriminate of it. Purposive rational and value rational are interdependent, mutually promotive, the same to formal rational and substantive rational. One side, the development of value rational and substantive rational is based on the development of Purposive rational and formal rational, while the development of Purposive rational and formal rational need the guide of value rational and substance rational. The other side, the development of Purposive rational and formal rational need value rational and substantive rational to pay price. Modern peoele on social theory are aware of the probability of balance between purposive rational and value rational or formal rational and substantive rational, then they set up their thought system based on critique Weber's thought about rationalization to resove Weber's difficult problem and transcend Weber. In addition, Weber's pessimism of the difficult position of rationalization insults his opinions about human nature. Weber's thought implies two views on human nature. One aspect, human is unity of the rational factor and irrational factor, for which people have the sense of loss and sad in the modern rational society. The other aspect, human is unity of the material existence and spirit existence. People have the need of material and spirit, which make human to be whole and perfect. Based on the two causes, we must do our best to help the harmonious of human nature to promote whole existence of human and all-round development of human.On the theory of knowledge, Weber finds rational knowledge in modern society lost its overall function in ancient Greek, which is the road lead to the true life, the true art, and god. This is the effect of rationalism protruding, excessive publicize of subject nature of people in the Enlightenment, rapid development of natural science. Based on this, we must know rightly the two-side characteristic of science reson and promotive the harmonious between human and science to reply the challenge of modernization and rationalization. Though Weber have found that the philosophy foundation of the difficult position rationalization, he can not escape it.The division of purposive rational and value rational, or the division of formal rational and substantive rational mean the division of knowledge or philosophy between morality aspect and technique aspect and the division of human nature between materials existence and spirit exsitence in modern society. It is difficult to insove the problem from specific method. It is unnecessary to be in pessimistic and fear. Breeding a new knowledge idea, mixing knowledge and human together in existence theory aspect, getting knowledge and human to exsist in world, coming very naturally, which is probably the place where there is human wish.