Elements of Max Weber’s comprehensive sociology: categorical application for research in education

Abstract

This article is an introduction to the problem of meaning with the aim of announcing its application in research in education. That is a theoretical-conceptual research, whose theoretical basis of analysis focuses on Max Weber, but organically refers to the phenomenology of Edmund Husserl and Alfred Schutz. Based on Husserl, the various aspects, in which meaning occurs are perceived: as a semantic meaning, as a structural or eidetic meaning, as a grounding or logical meaning and as a motivational meaning. In Weber’s comprehensive sociology, the meaning of motivation stands out, which is manifested through the subject’s concrete actions, and understanding is an understanding of the meaning of action. Schutz retains from Husserl the meaning as prior to action, as a product of consciousness, and from Weber, the meaning of action motivation, which means, in terms of categorical application, in the notion of meaning, in educational research, the possibility of: a) apprehension of educational process as a production of meaning, which means apprehending that in its subjective dimension; b) reflection on the role of subject and object in the research relationship; and c) enhancement of research on the educational process, from the perspective of understanding. It is expected that the results can expand the range of methodological expressions in research in education that are anchored in the phenomenological-interpretative perspective.