La condotta della vita (Lebensführung): Da Goethe a Max Weber

For Weber, the investigation of social and individual life were inextricably interwoven and belonged inexorably together. To study the economy and the societal orders and powers implies the necessity to figure out which type of human being and what kind of conduct of life the prevailing culture primarily selects. The conduct of life – and this is the central theoretical thesis of my essay – was the indispensable end moraine of Weber’s sociology. No sociological study would be complete without asking the question: What does this all mean for the conduct of life of actors and status groups? Despite the fact that «conduct of life» is neither a basic concept nor truly defined, it characterizes the analytical and normative vantage point of Weber’s sociology. It is my normative thesis that Weber was basically inspired by Goethe in order to answer the question of how to lead a meaningful life. He translates life and work of the German poet into his sociology of the proper conduct of life under modern conditions.