Wissenschaft als Beruf

Max Weber's text is based on a lecture he delivered in Munich in 1917 for students beginning their studies, discussing the profession of a scientist. He first points out the extremely uncertain career prospects, which are still dependent on unpredictable contingencies today, before turning to specialization as an essential prerequisite for scientific work. Not least, Weber makes a clear distinction between the exact natural sciences and the humanities, which are oriented towards questions of meaning, and he rejects the progressive politicization of the latter as harmful.