Max Weber has a complex relation with logical positivism; he rejects many of its basic tenets. However, he firmly accepts the fact/value distinction of Hume and urges development of value free social science. His thought is very complex and subtle and not easily understood or summarized. Weber's influence is also discussed by Julie Reuben.
Max Weber and the methodology of the social sciences By Toby E. Huff
Huff provides a rare, full-scale study of the origins and development of Max Weber's methodology, which focuses on Weber's neglected early methodological essays that were not translated into English until the 1970s. He explores Weber's writings in light of developments in postempiricist philosophy of science, and shows that Weber was well aware of the epistemological foundations of the descriptive psychology school, whose intellectual heir was Husserl. This volume will help scholars and students understand in the broadest sense the issues central to the logic of social scientifi c explanation, and will appeal to philosophers, sociologists, political scientists, as well as scholars of Weber.
Book Review: Weber's Positivism View Download [attached below: WeberFactValue.pdf]
Author(s): John A. Doody
Reviewed work(s):
Max Weber by Anthony T. Kronman
Source: The Review of Politics, Vol. 46, No. 4 (Oct., 1984), pp. 629-632
Max Weber's Methodology: The Unification of the Cultural and Social Sciences
by: Fritz Ringer This is available for download from Gigapedia.