Max Weber as Anti-Tolstoy

Abstract

The article has a purpose to show a narrow connection of the development of Max Weber’s ethical thought with his comprehension of Leo Tolstoy’s life and works. The author doesn’t claim the exclusive and dominant influence of Leo Tolstoy on these or other Weber’s ethical ideas. The author makes statement just concerning certain connection between Weber’s ideas and Tolstoy’s creative heritage. He also gives the possible intellectual, biographical and historical perspectives, which could be more or less useful. It should be also noted that Weber discussed with Tolstoy who in many aspects was an ideal type or an example of the ideal type. That is expressed in those simplifications and distortions which Weber makes in the relation to Tolstoy’s ideas. Partly it was a dispute of Weber with himself.