Abstract

Talcott Parsons is the pivotal figure in the Anglo-Saxon reception of Weber's oeuvre, and especially of The protestant ethic and the spirit of capitalism. His translation of 1930 lasted for seventy years. Assuming only few social scientists master German, it had a quasi-monopoly during this period. The 20th century reception of Weber in the English speaking world thus is Parsons' merit, but also bears, and suffers from, the stamp of his translation. For the latter is not only qualitatively defective, but also fits remarkably well into Parsons' own theories. This article maps the problems of validity and reliability of Parsons' translation, and compares it with the two English translations that appeared recently. In general the quality is significantly higher than Parsons' translation, This entails an optimistic conclusion of the possibility of progress in social-scientific exegesis as a basis for progress in theory formation.

How to Cite:

Adriaenssens, S., (2003) “Over de receptie van de sociologische canon: nieuwe en oude Engelse vertalingen van Webers 'protestantse ethiek'”, Tijdschrift voor Sociologie 24(4), 313–330. doi: https://doi.org/10.21825/sociologos.86586