A Study On "Value Neutrality" Of Max Weber

Max Weber(1864-1920), is worshipped as one of the three existing sociology gods in this world. He has made a great contribution to the contemporary social science and social ideology, especially the core principle in the field of social science--- the principle of "value neutrality", whose originality is so distinctive and is always admired by people. In the scientific research of western society, the principle of "value neutrality" is a type of methodological principle with the tune of objectivism, the employment of which in the social scientific researches can ensure their objectivity and scientificness, and in addition, clarify the confusing relation between the science and religion. However, the rational factors of this proposition are unable to compensate its own inner contradiction; therefore, while exploring its rationality, analyzing its contradiction is extremely necessary.In fact, w's principle of "value neutrality" may be just an "ideal type", only comes to be a "Utopia". As a matter of fact, it is impossible that there is a pure "value neutrality"; although when proving his principle of "value neutrality", Weber used the conceptions of "outer science"(value judgement) and "inside science"(value neutrality) in order to avoid the contradiction out of "value neutrality", he cannot escape the destiny of causing false in the academy itself and the negative influence on the following scholars. Therefore, only based on the rational research of "value-neutrality" conception, only employing its rationality to disregard the contradiction, and then rationally employing of its rationality to do social scientific research are scientific. On the basis of that, we have to make clear the ins and outs of this theory and analyze its theoretical gain and loss; then it will be practically significant to draw on the experience of this conception and utilize it in our country's social scientific researches.The exposition of the whole thesis consists of three parts. The first part talks over the ideological origin of Weber's principle of "value neutrality", pointing out that this ideology is the combination of the influence of the modern rationalism, English and French positivism, , neo-Kantism, historicism and the self reflection of the time and experience; The second part discusses the connotation of the "value-neutrality" conception, and by exploring the relation among value relevance, value judgment and value neutrality, reveals the connotation of the "value-neutrality" conception; the third part evaluates Weber's "value-neutrality" conception, while pointing out the rationality and contradiction as well as the influence out of that, the present part tempts to discuss the implication of the "value-neutrality" conception upon the social scientific research in our country.