Idealization as a method of theoretical knowledge
In the methodology of science, it is customary to distinguish two levels of scientific knowledge - empirical and theoretical.
At the empirical level, the object studied by science is cognized from the side "phenomena" that is, those individual properties and relationships, which are available for direct registration with the help of the sense organs of the cognizing subject and various devices that enhance their resolution. The main research methods at this level are observation, experiment and measurement. The results of empirical research are in the form of scientific facts and empirical relationships that describe recognizable object.
At the theoretical level, the object under study is known by science from the side of its "essence", that is, those internal laws, that govern its operation and development. The main means of research here is logical thinking. , and the main methods are abstraction, idealization, thought experiment and others. The results of theoretical research are in the form of hypotheses and theories , which are capable of explaining previously obtained facts and dependencies and predicting new facts previously unknown.
The theoretical level of knowledge necessarily involves the use of the idealization procedure. Underidealization is understood as the mental construction of an “idealized” situation (object, phenomenon), to which properties or relationships are attributed that are possible only in the “limiting” case. The results of such construction are idealized objects. Such, for example, are a point, a straight line, a plane - in geometry, an ideal gas, an absolutely black body - in physics.
Idealized objects are much simpler than real objects; mathematical methods of description are applicable to them. Thanks to idealization, processes are considered in their purest form, without accidental introductions from outside, which opens the way to revealing the laws by which these processes proceed.
The process of idealization can be illustrated by the following example. Suppose that someone walking along a horizontal road with a luggage cart suddenly stops pushing it. The trolley will move for some more time, travel a short distance, and then stop. There are a number of ways to lengthen the distance traveled by the cart after being pushed, such as lubricating the wheels, making the road smoother, etc. The easier the wheels turn and the smoother the road, the farther the cart will travel. The lubrication of the wheels and the smoothing of road irregularities lead to a decrease in external influences on the moving body. It is experimentally established that the smaller the external influences on a moving body, the longer the path traversed by this body. In other words, an inversely proportional relationship is found between external influences on a moving body and the path traversed by this body. We can find more and more new ways to reduce external influences on a moving body and, accordingly, more and more new ways to lengthen the path traversed by a moving body. However, it is impossible to eliminate all external influences. The regularity that we have revealed (the relationship between external influences on a moving body and the length of the path traversed by this body) gives us the opportunity to take a decisive step - to recognize that if you completely eliminate external influences on a moving body, then it will move infinitely and at the same time uniformly and rectilinearly. Such a conclusion was made at one time by Galileo and most clearly formulated later by Newton in the form of the law of inertia: every body retains a state of rest or uniform rectilinear motion, unless it is forced to change it under the influence of acting forces.
Thus, what could not be achieved directly by experiment is achieved through thinking, the process of idealization.
The idealization process can be divided into the following steps:
1. By changing the conditions in which the object under study is located, we reduce their impact (sometimes increase it).
2. At the same time, we find that some properties of the object under study also change uniformly.
3. Assuming that the impact of conditions on the subject under study decreases indefinitely, we make mental transition to the limit case and thus to some idealized object.
An idealized object, unlike a real one, is characterized not by an infinite, but by a quite definite number of properties, and therefore the researcher gets the possibility of complete intellectual control over it. Idealized objects model the most essential relationships in real objects. Since the provisions of the theory speak about the properties of idealized, and not real, objects, there is a problem of verifying and accepting these provisions on the basis of correlation with the real world. Direct correlation, as a rule, gives nothing but errors. Therefore, in order to take into account the introduced circumstances that affect the deviation of indicators inherent in empirical givenness from the characteristics of an idealized object, they formulate rules for concretization, or, as they often say, reduction rules. So, for example, to calculate the path of a freely falling body, the well-known formula is used 1 /2 gt² . But the result obtained is purely theoretical and is true for an idealized subject. To obtain empirically reliable knowledge, it is necessary to fulfill a number of additional specification requirements: take into account, in particular, the latitude of the crash site and its height above sea level, air resistance, lateral effects of wind and electromagnetic waves, and others.
IDEALIZATION
The process of mental construction of concepts about objects that do not exist and cannot exist in reality, but retain some features of real objects. In the process of I., on the one hand, we abstract from many properties of real objects and retain only those of them that are of interest to us in this case, on the other hand, we introduce into the content of the formed concepts such features that, in principle, cannot belong to real objects. As a result of I., idealized objects arise, for example, "material point", "straight line", "ideal gas", "absolutely black body", "inertia", etc. Any science, highlighting its aspect from the real world for studying, uses I. and idealized objects. The latter are much simpler than real objects, which makes it possible to give their exact mathematical description and penetrate deeper into the nature of the phenomena under study. The fruitfulness of scientific I. is tested in experiment and material practice, during which the correlation of theoretical idealized objects with real things and processes is carried out.
fr. idealization from fr. ideal - ideal).- 1) The method of art. generalizations, emphasizing in a sensually-figurative form both positive values and negative aspects of reality; in creative practice it is sometimes intertwined with typification, but more often it comes down to the exaltation of a positive object, its spiritualization, presentation of aesthetically significant, up to elevation to a model, ideal by giving it a perfect appearance (Perfection). In the lawsuit, according to Chernyshevsky. "there is an idealization in a good and a bad way, or, simply speaking, an exaggeration." In other words, I. can be performed not only in the direction of the positive, but also in the opposite direction, when, for example, vulgarity is idealized in the direction of the terrible or ridiculous. Plekhanov noted the denial of the bourgeois way of life inherent in Romanticism. IN folk art I. can be both parodic-playful and lubok-idyllic in nature. In all cases, I. is more focused on the norm-sample than on the cognitive-analytical approach to reality inherent in typification. If in a typifying art the ideal is “the relationship in which the author puts the types created by him to each other, in accordance with the thought that he wants to develop with his work” (Belinsky), then in an idealizing art the images often become the embodiment of the ideal. characters, thoughts and feelings of an artist or a folk group, expressed in open lyrical, journalistic fragments. I., on the one hand, is characteristic of "etiquette" forms of culture associated with customs, rituals, where creative process subject to canon. On the other hand, being the result of the activation of consciousness in the direction of the desired forms of life and values, I. reveals the potential of a person in anticipation or on the crest of social change, when the claim is oriented not so much to what is in reality, but to what what and how should be in it. I. is characteristic of the art of any culture, at the initial stages of its development, folklore, many others. Eastern, African, Latin American. artistic phenomena, ancient classics, Western European art. and Russian Middle Ages, Classicism, Romanticism. Architecture, decorative art, classical ballet, lyrics, monumental memorial sculpture gravitate to I., although the latter does not exclude typification, which is typical of modern art. its development trends. 2) Intentional or involuntary ignoring by the artist of the shady and dramatic aspects of life, its false embellishment, "varnishing" in production. nsk-va. Similar I. displays the product. from the field of art. values. concepts, always in some respect simplifying, schematizing this reality. Acts cannot do without it. abstractions And generalizations. I. Like abstraction and generalization, I. is an act of mental liberation of reality from some of its features, signs, and connections. But, unlike conventional (classification) general concepts, obtained as a result of generalizing abstraction (for example, "gas", "liquid", "solid body"), the volume of which is the objects of reality, in terms obtained as a result of I. (for example, "ideal gas", "ideal liquid ”, “absolutely rigid body”), idealized objects are conceived that do not exist in reality and to which real prototypes can be indicated only with a greater or lesser degree of approximation. The assimilation of reality characteristic of I. to some ideal model and its corresponding mental transformation allow us to develop a theoretical model (theory) for it as the basis and prerequisite for ultimately comprehending this reality in its concrete diversity. I. as a simplifying procedure is used when the subject research real objects are quite complex, but in relation to the idealized case, it is possible, by applying the means of theoretical, primarily mathematical, analysis, to construct and develop a theory, under certain conditions, effective for descriptions properties and behavior of these real objects. The requirement that a theory built on the basis of I., one way or another - directly or indirectly - has an application to real objects, is the most important and unconditional requirement. Indicative in this regard is the concept of an ideal gas - a gas characterized only by the kinetic energy of the motion of its particles, interacting only in a collision, like infinitely small absolutely elastic bodies, as well as by the potential energy of interaction of particles equal to zero. The basic gas laws (of Avogadro, Boyle, Gay-Lussac, Clapeyron's equation of state for a gas), which are derived from the molecular-kinetic theory constructed on the basis of this I. theory, are strictly speaking valid only for an ideal gas. However, with some approximation, they can also characterize the states of real, sufficiently rarefied gases with low pressure and density at temperatures sufficiently above critical. In this case, the results of the theory do not differ significantly from the experimental data. The problem of returning from the concepts and assertion of a theory, erected on the basis of I., to real objects does not have a single, universal solution. One of the simple ways is that appropriate coefficients are introduced into the law formulated for an idealized object, as a result of which the law is already used to describe the behavior and calculation of various real objects. In physics, for example, the radiation law of a completely black body (the Stefan-Boltzmann law) is used in this way to calculate the energy radiated by one or another real body; or from the formula for the impact of absolutely elastic bodies, formulas are obtained for the impact of bodies of different elasticity. In other cases, the estimated coefficients may be in such a complex functional dependence on the various states of the object under study that such a path turns out to be practically unsuitable; then the connection between the theoretical construction and reality is established in a different way. A theory built on the basis of one or another I. is effective only under certain conditions and limits, which should be kept in mind. While explaining some properties and manifestations of the object under study, it begins to diverge from experimental data when explaining some of its other properties and manifestations. If such a discrepancy appears particularly sharply, then it indicates the limit of applicability of the given I. Such, for example, is the d'Alembert-Euler paradox in hydrodynamics. Based on the concept of an ideal fluid (absolutely incompressible and devoid of any forces of internal friction, or viscosity), it is possible to explain a number of hydrostatic properties of real fluids: the setting of their surface, the distribution of pressure in them, the static lifting force in the fluid. However, consideration of motion in it solid body shows that the latter should be carried out without any resistance from the environment, i.e. the momentum of the body will remain unchanged, and no force of inertia will act on the body from the side of the fluid. Such a conclusion strikingly contradicts all experience and in no way corresponds to the properties of real liquids. The d'Alembert-Euler paradox signals that when solving general problems of the motion of a rigid body in a fluid, the concept of an ideal fluid does not work and should be abandoned. AL. Subbotin
Great Definition
Incomplete definition ↓
We all idealize to one degree or another. In the minds of young children, parents are endowed with ideal traits, teenagers often see perfection in some famous person, and in adult life idealization often accompanies romantic relationships. In general, this is a very broad concept related to various fields of knowledge.
Definition approaches
As we mentioned, idealization is an interdisciplinary term, therefore, when defining it, it is necessary to clarify what kind of science we mean. In the most general sense, idealization is the assignment to an object of perfect qualities that this object does not possess in reality.
In addition, one speaks of idealization as a method scientific knowledge, in which the scientist mentally makes changes to the object of study, starting from the goals of the study. The definition of these changes should be carried out taking into account two mandatory conditions.
- In the framework of this study, they do not distort the essence of the object.
- They make it possible to bring to the fore the most significant properties of the phenomenon under study for the researcher.
In psychology, there is also more than one definition of this term. Idealization is considered as, firstly, a protective mechanism, and secondly, a way to overcome the conflict, and it can be directed both to another person and to the person himself.
Self-idealization is dangerous because it creates an illusory conviction in a person that he does not have internal conflicts, gives him a sense of superiority over others, obscures the true ideals and needs of the individual. In fact, there is only one need left: to constantly prove to yourself and the world your own perfection.
In psychology
That is, for example, a child screams from hunger - and his mother feeds him, but for him it looks like he got food for himself. This phenomenon is called infantile omnipotence. As the child grows older, it gives way to the omnipotence of those who care for him, that is, idealization.
At first, idealization extends only to parents, because to a child isolated from the external environment, they are seen as creatures that can protect him from any troubles, real or imagined. Later, when more and more people appear in the environment of the child, perfect features are gradually transferred to others.
A residual tendency to idealize people on whom we feel emotional dependence persists throughout life - moreover, it is a natural element of love in a mature person. However, if the infantile need remains more or less unchanged, this is fraught with psychological problems.
Such people become extremely dependent on others, they are not able to independently confront problems and difficulties and believe that only a connection with an all-powerful object of idealization will help them cope with adversity and protect them from a hostile world. In this vein, religious beliefs are seen as a natural continuation of the process of idealization. At the same time, a person’s own shortcomings, in comparison with the ideal, are seen as exaggerated and make him constantly ashamed of himself.
One endows the other with exaggerated virtues, and the other, in turn, seeks to show only those qualities that correspond to the ideal image, which facilitates idealization on the part of the first person. The significance of this process is assessed in two ways:
- As a positive: it becomes an incentive for self-improvement, because a person strives to become what his beloved sees.
- As a negative: creates high expectations and then leads to disappointment in the partner and in the relationship in general.
There is another definition of idealization. The so-called practical idealization implies work on one's internal and external transformation, aimed at liberation in communication - primarily with the opposite sex. Author: Evgeniya Bessonova
Idealization - the process of mental construction of representations and concepts about objects that do not exist and cannot exist in reality, but retain some features of real objects. In the process of idealization, on the one hand, we abstract from many properties of real objects and retain only those of them that are of interest to us in this case, on the other hand, we introduce into the content of the formed concepts such features that, in principle, cannot belong to real objects. As a result of idealization, ideal, or idealized, objects arise, for example, “material point”, “straight line”, “ideal gas”, “absolutely black body”, “inertia”, etc.
Idealization and abstraction. Idealization is a kind of abstraction, which is a specific form of cognition, which involves the mental reconstruction of an object by abstracting from some of its properties or replenishing them. Being generalized images, abstractions are performed on a system of models. If there are no such systems, the abstractions are semantically empty. Non-empty, meaningful abstractions are divided into two groups. Some are performed on material models, they are called material. Others are realized on ideal models, they are called ideal. The latter fix directly non-existent in reality, but having some analogues of objective features in it. This stage of abstractions, in fact, forms a set of idealizations; they introduce ideal elements into thought, endow them with mental existence through creative definitions.
An example of building an idealized object. Consider the following group of objects: a watermelon, a balloon, a soccer ball, a globe, and a ball bearing. On what basis can we combine them into one class of things? All of them have a different mass, color, chemical composition, functional purpose. The only thing that can unite them is that they are similar in "form". Obviously, they are all "spherical". Our intuitive belief in the similarity of these things in form, which we draw from the testimony of our senses, we can translate into the language of rational reasoning. We say: the specified class of things has the shape of a ball. The special science of geometry is engaged in the study of geometric shapes and their relationships. How does geometry single out the objects of its study, and what is the relationship between these theoretical objects and their empirical prototypes? This question has occupied philosophical thought since the time of Plato and Aristotle. What is the difference between an object of geometry - a point, a straight line, a plane, a circle, a ball, a cone, etc., from its corresponding empirical correlate?
First, a geometric object, such as a ball, differs from a ball, globe, etc., in that it does not imply the presence of physical, chemical, and other properties, with the exception of geometric ones. In practice, objects with such strange features are not known to occur. By virtue of this fact, it is customary to say that the object of a mathematical theory is a theoretical object, and not an empirical one, that it is a construct, and not a real thing.
Secondly, a theoretical object differs from its empirical prototype in that even those properties of a thing that we retain in a theoretical object after the process of modifying the image (in this case, geometric properties) cannot be thought of as we encounter them in experience. Indeed, when we measure the radius and circumference of a watermelon, we notice that the ratio between the obtained quantities differs to a greater or lesser extent from the ratio that follows from geometric reasoning. We can, however, make a wooden or metal ball, the spatial properties of which will be much closer to the corresponding properties of the "ideal" ball. Will the progress of technology and measurement procedures lead to the fact that a person will be able to physically reproduce one or another geometric construct? The nature of things is such that such a possibility is, in principle, unrealizable. It is impossible to grow a watermelon, which in its form would be as “correct” as a bearing, this is prevented by the laws of the living. It is impossible to create such a bearing that would absolutely exactly correspond to a geometric ball, this is prevented by the molecular nature of the substance. It follows that although in practice we can create things that, in terms of their geometric properties, are increasingly approaching the ideal structures of mathematics, we must still remember that at any stage of such an approximation, infinity lies between the real object and the theoretical construct.
From what has been said, it follows that the accuracy and perfection of mathematical constructions is something empirically unattainable. Therefore, in order to create a construct, we must make one more modification of our mental image of a thing. We not only have to transform the object by mentally highlighting some properties and discarding others, we must also subject the selected properties to such a transformation that the theoretical object acquires properties that are not found in empirical experience. The considered transformation of the image is called idealization. Unlike ordinary abstraction, idealization does not focus on operations distractions but on the mechanism replenishment .
Stages of idealization:
1) highlighting in a natural situation a complex of parameters that are fundamental from the point of view of analysis (relationships of property, power, etc.) against the background of neglecting other features of objects;
2) constitution of the selected features as invariant, representative for a certain class of phenomena (i.e. these features are present in the entire class of objects- relations of property, power, etc. as structure-forming factors that bind society into a single whole);
3) limit operation. By discarding the "perturbing influence" of the conditions on the selected relations, the transition is made to the limiting case, i.e., to the properly idealized object: such an object that we have constructed does not exist in reality.
The meaning of idealization . Any science, separating its aspect for study from the real world, uses idealization and idealized objects. The latter are much simpler than real objects, which makes it possible to give their exact mathematical description and penetrate deeper into the nature of the phenomena under study. The presence of idealization in cognition serves as an indicator of the development of branches of knowledge, corresponds to the theoretical stage of the functioning of thought.
Conditions for the adequacy of idealizations . The most important condition is adequacy of reality. Experience gives the answer about the boundaries and limits of idealization; only practical testing of abstract constructions, comparing them with actual data, makes it possible to judge the legality or illegality of idealization. The demarcation of scientific (meaningful) and non-scientific (empty) abstraction passes along the line of experimental feasibility: in the case of science, it is potential, complex, indirect, but the projection of idealization onto empiricism (ideally) should be; in the case of non-science, the presence of such a projection is not necessary. Let us stipulate that the requirement of empirical justification is quite strict, and it must be admitted that in real cognition, not all idealizations meet it. The absence of empirical equivalents is not sufficient in itself to unequivocally reject idealization; for a certain period, the entry into the theory of empirically unverifiable idealizations will be put up with. But it does not cause much satisfaction.
An example of incorrect idealization : the ideal construction of the "communist formation". Problems of its reification:
1. The idea of communism, as such, is qualitative: neither in the period of its advancement, nor even more so in modern times, can it be coordinated with the concept of planetary possibilities, biospheric geo-conditions for human habitation. At the moment it is clear: the image of the full flow of wealth consumed by free (associated) producers is fictitious, because it has no explication in terms of globalistics. Simple calculations show that if the standard of living of people is raised to a level comparable to that of citizens of developed countries, it will take 50 years to double the processing of all natural resources, increasing energy production by 500 times. The latter (from the standpoint of existing ideas) is impossible. Moreover, even maintaining the existing standard of living in developed countries, which implies an increase in growth rates, becomes more and more difficult every year. The growth rates in the current state of civilization (emphasizing this deprives the thesis of universality, but fills it with realism: the statements of science must be in line with reality) are not unlimited, since planetary reserves are exhaustible. In this regard, colossal problems of redistribution, readiness for life with zero or even negative growth, arise, the satisfactory solution of which mankind (yet) does not know.
2. The nature of public property. In theory, it is a big problem to clarify the category of public property as economic, because experience fully reveals its uneconomical nature. In our history, public property has been realized in the system powerful , and not actually economic relations: in reality, it represented the power of some people over others through things, moving away from free productive activity. Attempts to embody the idea of public property under socialism were crowned with stateization, which decomposed the economic system of productive forces that had been taking shape for centuries. Now our return to civilization is associated with denationalization, decollectivization. But then what does theory teach? And most importantly: is economically viable public property possible at all? In what case and under what circumstances is collectivity connected with efficiency? Is socialism possible as a real, and not a fiscal, formative formation on the basis of social property that does not lead to a dead end?
3. The question of the mechanisms of stimulation and regulation of social labor. The goal of socialist social production is declared not to be profit, but to increase the people's well-being, the all-round development of the individual. The mechanism of communication between people in such production cannot be the market. Leaving aside the forceful pressure of administration, the theory relies on the conscience and enthusiasm of people. Meanwhile, until now, practice has shown the unfulfillment of such hopes. In order to stimulate and regulate joint productive activity through consciousness, internally motivated, and not disciplinary enthusiasm, it is first necessary to observe a great many conventions: abolish political institutions, exercise self-government, move on to creative, constructive labor designed for high self-fulfillment, etc. A circle arises: a new type of productive labor, regulated by consciousness, rests on the preliminary materialization of a new type of productive labor activity. How to break this circle, the theory does not explain.
4. The task is to combine communist "practical humanism" with collectivism. Communist practical humanism, or the recognition of man as the highest value, an end, and not a means of social life, an emancipated subject of social action, is supported in practice not by collectivism, but by healthy individualism. The latter is served by the mechanism developed by civilization to protect the rights and freedoms, the dignity of a self-sufficient citizen in full agreement with the interpretation of freedom as the autonomy of the individual in society. Autonomous free being - appropriate guarantees of self-realization. The dissolution of the individual in the public as a whole, placing him in the environment of socialist collectivism, unfolds the vital issue of human freedom from the perspective of "the ratio of the autonomy of the individual and social paternalism" to the perspective of "cognition and adherence to necessity", which in itself (and even more so against the backdrop of history) is fraught with the collapse of the premises of both freedom and humanism.
Consequently, the idealizing premises, the idealizations of the "communist formation" are not consistent with the real state of affairs, they are not reduced to the objects of others, they are not empirically interpreted. It follows from what has been said, if not fictitiousness (such a qualification would be excessive against the background of a tolerant attitude towards “quarks”, “tachyons”, etc., empirically unadapted, but admitted to scientific circulation), then insufficient validity of the ideal model of communism.
Example of correct idealization: Max Weber's theory of ideal types. The ideal type is any intellectual construction that generalizes social reality; the ideal type can be compared with a "concept", a "representation" (but formalized, constructed). Specific social formations are much easier to analyze, comparing them with ideal types as a kind of standards. Therefore, the ideal type is an important tool in sociological analysis. What is the sociological ideal type? If history, according to Weber, should strive to analyze individual phenomena, that is, phenomena localized in time and space, then the task of sociology is to establish general rules for events, regardless of the spatio-temporal definition of these events. In this sense, ideal types as tools of sociological research, apparently, should be more general and, in contrast to genetic ideal types, can be called "pure ideal types". This is how the sociologist constructs pure ideal models of domination (charismatic, rational, and patriarchal) that are found in all historical epochs, anywhere in the world. "Pure types" are suitable for research the more they are "pure", i.e., the farther away from real, empirically existing phenomena.
Ideal types are limiting concepts used in cognition as a scale for correlating and comparing elements of social reality with them.
Ideal Type Example : types of domination. Definition: dominance means a chance to meet obedience to a certain order. Sovereignty presupposes, therefore, a mutual expectation: of the one who orders, that his order will be obeyed; those who obey - that the order will have the character that they, who obey, are expected, that is, recognized. In full accordance with his methodology, Weber begins the analysis of legitimate types of domination with a consideration of possible (typical) "motives for obedience." Weber finds three such motives and, in accordance with them, distinguishes three pure types of domination.
Domination may be due to interests, i.e., the purposeful rational considerations of those who obey regarding advantages or disadvantages; it can be conditioned, further, simply by "morals," the habit of a certain behavior; finally, it can be based on a simple personal inclination of the subjects, that is, have an affective basis.
First type domination (Weber calls it "legal" ) as a "compliance motive" has considerations of interest; it is based on purposeful action. Weber’s modern bourgeois states belong to this type: England, France, the United States of America, etc. In such a state, Weber emphasizes, not individuals, but established laws obey: they obey not only those who are ruled, but also those who manage (officials). The administrative apparatus consists of specially trained officials, they are required to act "regardless of persons", that is, according to strictly formal and rational rules. Formal legal principle - the principle underlying "legal domination"; it was this principle that, according to Weber, turned out to be one of the necessary prerequisites for the development of modern capitalism as a system of formal rationality.
Another type of legitimate domination , due to "mores, the habit of a certain behavior, Weber calls traditional . Traditional domination is based on the belief not only in legality, but even in the sacredness of ancient orders and authorities; it is based, therefore, on traditional action. The purest type of such domination is, according to Weber, patriarchal domination. The union of the ruling is a community, the type of chief is “master”, the headquarters of management is “servants”, subordinates are “subjects”, who are obedient to the master due to piety. Weber emphasizes that the patriarchal type of domination in its structure is in many respects similar to the structure of the family (it is this circumstance that makes the type of legitimacy that is characteristic of this type of domination particularly strong and stable).
The administrative apparatus here consists of domestic servants, relatives, personal friends or personally loyal vassals personally dependent on the master. In all cases, it is not service discipline and business competence, as in the type of domination already considered, but personal loyalty that serves as the basis for appointment to a position and for moving up the hierarchical ladder. Since nothing puts a limit to the arbitrariness of the master, the hierarchical division is often violated by privileges.
The usual types of traditional domination are characterized by the absence of a formal right and, accordingly, the requirement to act "regardless of persons"; the nature of relations in any area is purely personal; however, some freedom from this purely personal principle in all types of traditional societies, as Weber emphasizes. the sphere of trade is used, but this freedom is relative: along with free trade, there is always its traditional form.
Third a pure type of domination is, according to Weber, the so-called charismatic dominance . The concept of charisma plays an important role in Weber's sociology; charisma, at least in accordance with the etymological meaning of this word, is a kind of extraordinary ability that distinguishes an individual from the rest and, most importantly, not so much acquired by him as bestowed on him by nature. God, fate. Weber refers to charismatic qualities as magical abilities, a prophetic gift, an outstanding strength of mind and word; charisma, according to Weber, is possessed by heroes, great generals, magicians, prophets and seers, brilliant artists, prominent politicians, founders of world religions - Buddha, Jesus, Mohammed, founders of states - Solon and Lycurgus, great conquerors - Alexander the Great, Caesar, Napoleon.
The charismatic type of legitimate domination is the exact opposite of the traditional one: if the traditional type of domination is held on by habit, attachment to the ordinary, established once and for all, then the charismatic, on the contrary, is based on something extraordinary, never before recognized; It is no coincidence that the prophet, according to Weber, is characterized by such a turn: “It is said ... but I tell you ...” The affective type of social action is the main basis of charismatic domination. Weber sees charisma as the "great revolutionary force" that existed in traditional type societies and able to bring about changes in the structure of these societies deprived of dynamism.