منهجية التفسير السببي للفعل الاجتماعي عند ماكس فيبر و الواقعية النقدية

Abstract EN

The objective of this study is to introduce the methodology of causal explanation for social action.

The study attempts to achieve this aim through discussing two wellknown contributions in the field of sociology at the present time: Max Weber's concepts and Critical Realism.

After introducing some preliminary remarks about causal interpretation, the study focuses on Weber's concepts, which constitute a basis for his point of view concerning: understanding and causal explanation as an integral approach; causality as a qualitative and quantitative criterion; and the role of values and social contexts in the process of explanation on the one hand and abstraction and empirical generalisation on the other.

The study also deals with the contribution of critical realism through considering causality as a generative approach and the use of methodological and dialectical approaches in order to understand sociological events.

Finally, the study raises some debatable issues that have remained unsolved so far, like the difficulty of isolating values while dealing with social phenomenon and the impossibility of treating social action as typical for the purpose of achieving a causal explanation.