An intellectual biography of Max Weber which uses his most famous work, The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism as its starting point, with wider reference to the social, political, and religious thought of the time.
Max Weber’s Protestant Ethic is undoubtedly the most widely-read text in Western social theory of the last century. But is it really known? The proposition of this book is that it is not. Innumerable readers will “know” it for their own pedagogic and theoretical purposes, but properly historical grasp of the work’s full range of meanings, of its place within the fertile culture of the German states before 1914, and within Max Weber’s intellectual biography remains slight. The essays in this volume derive from the author’s work in translating and commenting on the Protestant Ethic. They seek (first) to cast light on the range and extent of Weber’s intellectual concerns when he was writing in 1904–05: not just English Puritanism, German theology, and capitalism, but also Herrschaft, Judaism, and the shape of Occidental history. This then serves to recapture the continuity and unity of Weber’s intellectual development, so that once more we may see the Protestant Ethic at the centre of his oeuvre, the indispensable prelude to all his later work, rather than setting it apart in splendid but curiously lifeless isolation.
Focusing on Max Weber's influential work, The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism, this intellectual biography explores his broader social, political, and religious ideas. It contextualizes Weber's theories within the historical landscape of his time, examining how his thoughts shaped and were shaped by contemporary societal dynamics. The book offers insights into Weber's impact on modern sociology and the interplay between religion and economic behavior, providing a comprehensive understanding of his legacy.
R.P. Ghosh's collection of poems is a subtle, atmospheric and dignified late harvest. Ghosh's themes are many: the beauty of earth, river and sky; the loneliness and meditativeness of old age; the pain and joy of family relationships; the lasting vividness of erotic love. Nor does he shy away from larger social, political and even metaphysical argument when these are a necessary part of his subject. His idiom is a free English verse which is flexible enough in its register to encompass both the lofty and sublime and the quotidian and detailed. Ninth title to author's credit, The Treasure of Tears is mature work by a poet who has learnt to know his own mind, the world around him, and how to make each speak to the other through the medium of a finely controlled and carefully modulated poetic imagination.
This book aims to demonstrate that Max Weber’s ideas can only be fully appreciated within their historical context. It builds on previous inquiries into Weber’s work and situates him within the broader landscape of German-language thought in the humanities and social sciences before 1933, a time when German speakers were at the forefront of academic innovation. This rich intellectual period has often been overshadowed by the Nazi catastrophe, yet it remains foundational to contemporary thought. The book comprises seven major essays that explore Weber’s contributions across various contexts: social science and economics, law, theology and religion, psychology and philosophy, and academic publishing. It also addresses those whom Weber believed had forsaken rigorous, scientific inquiry for more literary approaches. For Weber, specialization was a necessary yet restrictive aspect of academia. The book seeks to engage with Weber in a truly “Weberian” manner, examining his work across multiple disciplines while also considering his significance within the broader German-language intellectual tradition.
This comprehensive review explores various aspects of cartilage and its degradation processes. It begins with an examination of changes in cartilage proteoglycan structure during aging, discussing their origins and effects. The mechanisms underlying cartilage catabolism are analyzed, alongside the potential role of synovial factors in cartilage destruction. The review highlights how mononuclear cell factors influence the release of proteoglycan latent proteinase in human articular cartilage during organ culture. Additionally, it investigates the responses of human synovial fibroblasts to mononuclear cell factors and retinoic acid, as well as the impact of certain polysulphated polysaccharides on hyaluronate synthesis. The degradation of the cartilage matrix by purified elastase is addressed, including the role of an endogenous specific cartilage elastase inhibitor. The review further discusses the variations in serine and cysteine proteinase inhibitors in human articular cartilage with aging and degeneration. It also covers the interactions between neutrophil enzymes, antiproteases, and oxygen radicals in cartilage proteoglycan degradation, and the amplification of oxyradicals through eicosanoid synthesis. Moreover, it presents an assay for proteoglycanase applicable to cultured articular chondrocytes, the specificity of murine monoclonal antibodies to rabbit cartilage proteoglycan, and the identification of glycoprotein