THE VOCATION OF KNOWING

WEBER, DISENCHANTMENT, AND THE MODERN MIND

Is disenchantment an inevitable outcome of modernity? How can reason coexist with other forms of reasoning and moral frameworks? What kind of orientation is needed to navigate a disenchanted world?

Max Weber’s “Science as a Vocation” and the “Introduction” of Charles Taylor’s A Secular Age examine the conditions of modernity and the challenge of meaning in a “disenchanted” world, though they emphasize different aspects of this crisis.  Weber offers a sober diagnosis of a disenchanted world in which science provides knowledge and technical mastery but cannot supply ultimate meaning. Taylor builds on this diagnosis but reframes secularity not as a decline of religion, but as a transformation in the conditions of belief. Wavering between tragic acceptance and the desire to rehabilitate sources of meanings, together these texts trace the crisis of meaning in modernity and possible ways of responding to it.

Join us for a half-day seminar open to students, recent graduates (within three years of graduation), and BINST alumni. Copies of the readings will be provided to all participants. Reading in advance is required for a shared conversation, though full comprehension of the texts is not expected.

Date: Saturday, October 25
Time: 9:45AM - 1:45PM
Location: Berkeley Institute (2134 Allston Way, 2nd Floor)

Reading

• “Science as a Vocation” by Max Weber, originally delivered a a speech at Munich University in 1918 (approx. 21 pgs)

• “Introduction" in A Secular Age by Charles Taylor (approx. 22 pgs)

Schedule of Events

9:45: Introductions & Refreshments

10 - 11AM : Discussion of “Science as Vocation” by Max Weber

11 - 11:30AM: Reading Time

11:45AM - 12:30PM: Lunch

12:45 - 1:45PM: Discussion of “Introduction” in Charles Taylor’s A Secular Age