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Weber, Durkheim, and the comparative method
Author(s) -
Kapsis Robert E.
Publication year - 1977
Publication title -
journal of the history of the behavioral sciences
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.216
H-Index - 26
eISSN - 1520-6696
pISSN - 0022-5061
DOI - 10.1002/1520-6696(197710)13:4<354::aid-jhbs2300130408>3.0.co;2-h
Subject(s) - sociocultural evolution , sociology , epistemology , comparative method , empirical research , social science , anthropology , philosophy , linguistics
Abstract This essay compares and contrasts the means by which Durkheim and Weber dealt with methodological issues peculiar to the comparative study of societies, what Smelser has called “the problem of sociocultural variability and complexity.” 1 More specifically, it examines how Weber and Durkheim chose appropriate comparative units for their empirical studies. The approaches that Weber and Durkheim brought to the problem of cross‐cultural comparison have critical implications for more current procedures used in the comparative study of contemporary and historical societies.