O. Babiy

Communicative interactions of literary and musical-stage characters through the prism of the social actions theory by Max Weber

The motivation of interactions conformably to some literary and musical-stage characters is interpreted by the author of the named article on the basis of the category of social action, one of the key categories in Max Weber’s sociology. The German researcher chooses «conceptually pure» types of social actions: purpose-rational, value-rational, traditional and affective. The author of the article marks that methods of «the understanding sociology » can be extrapolated in music and employed in the analytical investigations which are dedicated to works of various styles and genres. Thereby universality of the selected research model is corroborated. Purpose-rational actions determine the behavior motivation of intriguers who are depicted at the opera stage in the art of the different national traditions. Value-rational actions are determined by the high moral and ethic standards, which an individual subordinate his life to. Value ideas inspire self-denial in the name of the common weal and for the sake of love in Christian and individual personal understanding. Traditional actions are conditioned by the social bases, while being at the same time akin to the habits. These actions in opera genre are not always possible to be estimated definitely, because they are not always perceived as expedient, and sometimes do not correspond with a specific arising situation at the moment. Affective actions are caused by emotional impulse, an immediate reaction to the insult, gross injustice. The mentioned types of actions are correlated with opera characters by W. A. Mozart and L. Beethoven, G. Rossini and R. Wagner, Ch. Gounod and R. Strauss, M. Glinka and M. Mussorgsky, N. Rimsky-Korsakov and P. Tchaikovsky.

Key words

Max Weber, «understanding sociology », the category of social action, «conceptually pure» types of social actions.

• Read full article