Max Weber’s social ontology: a rereading from Brian Epstein’s anchor individualism

Abstract:

The article presents a re-reading of Max Weber’s sociology based on Brian Epstein’s anchor individualism. After presenting Gert Albert’s thesis on Weber’s ontology, we reconstruct, in its broad outlines, the concepts of anchoring and grounding in Epstein’s individualistic ontology. We thus demonstrate that for Weber the social level is “anchored” in individuals conceived in their double dimension as bio-psychological and cultural beings. Regarding the “grounding” of the social, we show that the concept of meaningful action can be read as a form of mental projection that finds its collective translation in the dimension of institutionalized social relations [Social Order]. In this way, the relationship between the institutional level and the individual level is not thought of in terms of direct causation, but as “dependence” [grouding].

Keywords:
Max Weber; Social Ontology; Anchor individualism; Brian Epstein