Sharon P. answered • 08/30/21
PhD. in Anthropology, 18 years’ experience Educator, Patient
The simple answer is that Weber wanted another theory or methodology to explain social phenomena/human behavior. Max Weber was one of three significant influencers/shapers of modern Sociology (the other two were Emile Durkheim and Karl Marx).
Before moving forward on Weber’s theory regarding Antipositivism, a brief description of Positivism is required. Auguste Comte’s (1830-1842) Positivism's theory provides a methodology which he believed that in applying the methods of the natural sciences (or Scientific Method) could be productively used to study the social world (Gabler 2010). This methodology was used to identify the rapid changes during the Industrial Revolution and rapid urbanization occurring in the western world.
Therefore, Antipositivism, also known as Weber’s Verstahen, was a reaction to positivism. Weber felt that interrupting human behavior should be done with understanding historical events and social structure (Walker 2009). This can be construed to mean understanding the differences between positivism and other theories/approaches of interrupting social structure/events.
Thanks to Comte and Weber, sociological approaches to studying social phenomena are not a homogeneous methodology rather a combination of numerous qualitative, quantitative, interruptive-antipositivism, objective, and critical sociology.
