The empirical study of values

pp. 227-246

in: Martin Albrow, Max Weber's construction of social theory, Basingstoke, Palgrave Macmillan, 1990

Abstract

Even a cursory reading of Weber will show that "the problem of values' is not an irritating issue in methodology. Values are there from the beginning. It is not a question of science being able to proceed provided values are not allowed to intrude. Values define human purposes, including science, they pervade human existence, and something called objectivity can be established only with great difficulty within the vast frame of meaning of which values constitute such a major part and which is normally called culture.