Sinnproblem : On the Concept of Meaning in Max Weber’s Work. Individual Motivation, Phenomenological Intersubjectivity or Universe of Meaning?

Abstract: The starting point of the article is the idea that the concept of meaning ( Sinn ) remains ambiguous despite its centrality in Weber’s work. The existing bibliography on the subject is divided in three main streams: a) the agent-centered approach, which focuses on the subjective meanings individual actors link their actions to, b) the phenomenological approach, which interprets meaning in terms of acts of consciousness and intersubjective communication, and c) the articulated approach, which emphasizes the sociocultural dimensions of meaning and places individual action and intersubjectivity within a social ‘world of meaning’. Drawing mainly upon the third stream, linked to the work of scholars such as Dirk Käsler, Jean-Pierre Grossein and M. Michael Rosenberg, the article further explores the possibility of synthesizing various dimensions of meaning in Weber’s work and highlights the constitutive role religious and secular ‘universes of meaning’ play in shaping subjective rationalities and actions, as well as intersubjective exchanges, in different cultures and eras.