Question

One of the lockdown regulations has been the ban on the sale of tobacco, including cigarettes. Various reasons can be given for this, including that sharing a cigarette can transmit the corona virus. If we wanted to establish why and how cigarettes are shared by smokers, which of Weber’s social science tools would be most useful? Briefly explain your choice.

Answer 1

Weber did not reject causality in the social sciences. He believed in historical and sociological causality. He expressed this in terms of probability. If we wanted to establish why and how cigarettes are shared by smokers, we would use Weber's tool of rational actions (also known as value-rational actions). Accoridng to this, an individual commits an action to work towards a certian goal. When doing this, the individual does not understand the end goal or consequences.

When we look at the example of sharing a cigarette, individuals will due this even during the coronavirus epidemic looking at the end goal, tha tis to smoke. They will not consider the consequences of their action, therefore it will be a rational action, according to Weber.