Religion, Rationality, Science, Capitalism

Free Essay Sample «Religion, Rationality, Science, Capitalism »

Though the four are featured in most of the sociological books, articles and documentaries, there is no such tight connection between the four of them but there are close relations between some of them among the list. The right argument to present is to state that indeed there are connections between a smaller subset of these four variables. This has been stipulated by a number of scholars that through an intensive discussion prove that indeed the four variables have something in common in the field of sociology. One of such scholars that has discussed the four variables in different articles and books in sociology as well as in other fields is Max Weber.

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Max Weber was a all-around thinker and scholar as well as a sociologist, philosopher, as well as an economist. He propelled the German historical school to a high point. One of the major works that he embarked on was based on the “Protestant Ethic as well as the Spirit of Capitalism. This is the cycle to which the cycle belonged to as well as lot of work”. In his detailed discussion on capitalism, Weber puts it that an era can be portrayed as a distinctive capitalist in situations that only demand for coverage needs of the capitalist commitment to an extent that leads to the destruction of a system that might be lost to meet them all (Weber 19).

To be able to get a clear understand of some of these variables as well as their connection with each other, it is worth to know the deeper meaning of some of these terms. Religion refers to a set of beliefs regarding the nature, cause, as well as purpose that belongs to the universe, particularly when it comes to the creation belonging to a superhuman, the devotion to or observance to the rituals and a moral coding that governs the way people conduct themselves. On the other hand, Rationality is the state of mind belonging to a rational person and this is characterized by; coherent beliefs that are well-suited with the individual’s experience in a given context, purposeful behavior whose main guide is the mean-vs.-end analysis, and cost-vs.-benefit decision making that is expressed with the aim of achieving some gains and the minimization of losses.

It is simply the state or the quality of a person agreeing to reason or to be rational. Religion and rationality have been discussed by a number of scholars in relation to the emerging capitalism as well as the emerging science. One of the scholar’s work that have stood out as far as some of these issues are concerned is Max Weber as it had been mentioned in the earlier stages of this paper (Weber et al 144).

In regard to the substantive sociology by Max Weber, Rationality was discussed in detail in terms of rational legal authority or the traditional one. According to Weber, rationalization is process that has been there for long though it has played a major role in the transformation of the modern world. He defined four types of rationality; theoretical, practical, substantive an formal. His major concern was in the substantive and formal rationalization particularly in regard to the bureaucracy and capitalism that used to exist. His point was that rationalization was allover, in politics, law, economy, the city, art and most importantly in religion. However, in regard to this particular paper, it is the connection of rationalization to capitalism and religion that is one of the major concerns and these were some of the major areas that he used to his idea of rationalization.

Among such studies that were voluminous and complicated were the questions regarding the connections that existed between capitalism spirit, religious ideas, and economic system capitalism? In brief, Weber argued that Calvinism that was considered a methodical, rational religious system in terms of religious practices and beliefs and this was a relevant topic toward s the development of modern capitalism that is there among Western world individuals. Some of the major hindrances towards the emergence of the modern capitalism are economic ethics is some of the religions such as the Confucianism and Hinduism and was witnessed in both China and India as well. It was after the modern capitalization emergence among the Western world countries that and as a result rationalization was able to spread allover the globe (Weber et al 74).  

To be able to understand better the issues surrounding the connection of the modern science with religion and other issues such as emerging capitalism, it is wise to note about the role the Bible played in the formulation of the modern science (Harrison 1).  The development of the modern science featured this Holy Bible and the teachings in it in a great deal. The Bible is said to have played a major role. One of the things that is  worth considering while addressing the connection between religion and modern science is the fact that the contents of the Bible as it had already been written were clear and they could be translated in ways that appeared to clash with or to validate the new claims that were laid by Science (Harrison 1).  But was played a major significance in relation to this connection was the manner in which the Bible was interpreted in the 16th as well as the 17th centuries.

Protestant reformers as well as the Humanistic Scholars provided a new row in which they veered off from the allegorical scripture readings as well as the new focus regarding the true-life sense and the historical.  This was one thing that had major contributions towards the symbolic world collapse belonging to the middle Ages, a thing that overlay the way that the upcoming taxonomic and mathematical readings regarding nature. As a result, it is therefore evident enough that the hermeneutics of the bible were of reflective substance for the upcoming ways of understanding nature that is associated with what is referred to as the emergence of modern science (Harrison 1). 

Though there is nnot much expansion in terms of religion, Webber makes a note of a supernatural belief as being primeval and universal based on the fact that it common among many societies’ beliefs. It is in this line that he considered rationalization as emblematic of the western society as well as the hub of modernity. The spirit of capitalism and the protestant Ethic as well in regard to Webber acted as a perfect illustration of how faith and rationality can be allied more and harmonizing than converse to each other (Harrison 1). He expounds this better by drawing the non-compulsory resemblance that lied in between certain forms of religious thought and a number of economic structures as well as activities such as Protestantism ethics as well as rational level-headedness that belongs to this capitalism (Weber 97).

In regard to science and religion, it is worth noting that both are meant to yield some sense in the world of conception that we harbor. These are both the results of the struggle of the human beings in trying to give meaning to the noticeable chaos of the surrounding in which they leave in.  They both feature some kind of rational segregation from the world as a way of being incorporated in it at a distance that people can be able to scrutinize and appreciate in a more clear way just as the way one would distance himself or herself from a picture on the wall so as to be able to comprehend it in a better way.

However , though the scientific field try to attain this through the altering the world around it as well as its environment, the religious beliefs attempts achieves this through changes to the interior world or the world inside us, altering with the dissatisfactions , desires, and needs using a metaphysical and momentous knowledge that is concerned with the ethical discipline.  The emergence of the modern science based on the fact that the religious beliefs played a major role in its establishment, tries to link the religious beliefs and the scientific beliefs based on a common concept. However this has only succeeded in view aspects as if it were to tackle everything, this would go against some of the basic rules and laws of science that cannot be bended (Weber 37).

As Weber observes, science is based on the technology and the field of performances whose main theme is to control life instead of looking for the meaning of it. Science seeks to explain but is considered in most cases as lacking the significance; it provides a meaningless and disillusioning interpretation of the world in place of its coherent understanding. On the other hand, religion involves the logical forfeit of getting to know without necessarily looking for an explanation, or a display of believe regarding categorical dedication in place of the knowledge that is based on meaning. It can therefore be argued that as religion necessitates the intellectual sacrifice, science on the other hand features a spiritual forfeit of adjusting to the world (Weber et al 99).

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