Weber’s comparative -Historical sociology, general theory and some consideration on orientalist discourse in Iran

Max Weber is one of the most important founders of historical sociology. Not only, he emphasized the historical study of social problems, but also he seriously pursued a comparative approach. He developed his work with a focus on capitalism and an emphasis on the process of rationalization. The main point here is that weber sought to reconcile the interpretation with explanation, and specificity with general issues. For him, objectivity in the social sciences was important. In this article, we did three jobs. First, we discussed his efforts to describe, explain, and generalize a phenomenon in historical sociology by examining his methodological works. Second, we examined the main difference between Weber’s point of view and the oriental discourse. Finally, we argued that in order to avoid reducing the Western modernity to construction, one should use Weber’s ideal type - contrary to the theory of discourse.