Weber's Social Action Definition
Max Weber defined social action as behavior that is meaningfully oriented towards the behavior of others. This means the action is influenced by, and intended to influence, other people.
Analysis of Options
- Option 1: An unintended collision between two cyclists
This is an accidental event, not an action deliberately oriented towards the other cyclist's behavior. It lacks the subjective meaning central to Weber's definition. - Option 2: Winking at a friend
This action is clearly directed at another person (the friend) and carries a specific social meaning. It is oriented towards the friend's understanding. - Option 3: Listening to music while ignoring acquaintances
Even ignoring others is a form of social action. The person is aware of the acquaintances and their action (ignoring) is oriented towards their presence. - Option 4: Cyclists avoiding collision
Both cyclists are reacting to and anticipating each other's movements. Their actions are mutually oriented to prevent an interaction (collision). This is social action.
Conclusion on Social Action
An unintended collision is merely an event, not a subjective, meaningfully oriented social action as defined by Weber. The other options all involve actions consciously or unconsciously oriented towards other people's behavior or presence.
Important Questions from Classical Sociological Theory
- Fill in the blank with the CORRECT option.
The term ________ was coined by Francis Galton in 1883. It promotes positive selection of people with particular genes who are thought to be intelligent and negative selection of people considered to be inferior or defective. - In the book Suicide: A Study in Sociology, Durkheim states, “Those experiencing either downswing or uplift in their material circumstances are placed in a situation in which their habitual expectations come under strain." This could lead to ________
Match Talcott Parsons' functional pre-requisites in Column I with the associated social institutions in Column II.
Column I Column II Functional Pre-requisites Institution M Adaptation 1 Religion N Goal attainment 2 Law O Integration 3 Government P Latency 4 Economy - This founder of the Lucknow Department of Economics and Sociology called upon the discipline of Sociology “to combat the tyranny of Economics”. He argued, ‘No choice in the economic field can be appropriate or “rational” which is inconsistent with human norms and values in political, familial and other fields of man's institutional life.' Identify this sociologist from the following options:
In Das Kapital, Volume 1, Marx states that exchange value of three different commodities such as corn, iron and linen ________________
