Alfred Schütz, interpretive sociologist: Revisiting the Schützian interpretation of Weber

Abstract

This paper seeks to systematically reconstruct Alfred Schütz’s interpretation of Max Weber’s interpretive sociology, in three steps. First, it presents the main tenets of the Weberian sociological approach, understood as a critical response to positivist sociology. Second, it outlines the central features of Schütz’s ambivalent reception of Weber. Lastly, it provides a detailed examination of the way Schütz takes up Weber’s proposal in the three stages of his intellectual development.