Abstract
The problem of naturalism is one of the most frequently discussed issues in social scientific metatheory. Recent attempt at rethinking this long-lived prolbem, in its traditional formulations essentially insolvable, have one key point of reference: metodological works of Max Weber.
When we re-enter his suubtle dissection of social scientific foundations, we may find suprisingly strong claims in relation to the self assurence of a social scientist. For Weber , science reamins an aesthetic ideal and being a scientist is bound up with certain existential choices.
Operational coditions of social inquiry and possiblitiies of social explanation today are often highly restrictive, whti binding limits. A socal scientist is forced to consider all possible distortions that might appear during his reasearch task.
However, this process of reflection has to be suspended at some point. If socilology throws away its potentiality to transcend local contexts, abstract its cognition, it exposes itself to the danger that it might lose a great part of its appeal and will only become a "certain kind of writing." Max Weber was sensible of this menace and this article traces his responses to it.