science

Werturteilsstreit

Werturteilsstreit is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Werturteilsstreit rather than just read about it. In short: The value judgment controversy (German: Werturteilsstreit) is a Methodenstreit, a quarrel in German sociology and economics, around the question whether the social sciences are a normative obligatory statement in politics and its measures applied in political actions, and whether their measures can be justified scientifically. The internecine quarrel took place in the years before World War I, between the members of…

Key takeaways

Werturteilsstreit belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Werturteilsstreit to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Werturteilsstreit from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The value judgment controversy (German: Werturteilsstreit) is a Methodenstreit, a quarrel in German sociology and economics, around the question whether the social sciences are a normative obligatory statement in politics and its measures applied in political actions, and whether their measures can be justified scientifically. The internecine quarrel took place in the years before World War I, between the members of the Verein für Socialpolitik; the primary antagonists were Max Weber, Werner Sombart, and Gustav Schmoller. The Zweite Werturteilsstreit—better known as Positivismusstreit— was the debate between the supporters of Kritische Theorie and those of Kritischer Rationalismus during the 1960s .

References

Further reading Hans Albert and Ernst Topitsch (editor) – Werturteilsstreit –, Darmstadt 1971 Äußerungen zur Werturteilsdiskussion im Ausschuß des Vereins für Socialpolitik. – printed as manuscript 1913. John Dewey – Logik. Die Theorie der Forschung –, 1986 (Published in German 2002 as "Sozialforschung") Christian von Ferber – Der Werturteilsstreit 1909–1959. Versuch einer wissenschaftlichen Interpretation. – In: Ernst Topitsch (editor) – Logik der Sozialwissenschaften. – , Kiepenheuer & Witsch, Köln, 8. Auflage 1972, ISBN 3-462-00405-0 or ISBN 3-462-00406-9 Dirk Kaesler – Einführung in das Studium Max Webers –, München 1979 Dieter Lindenlaub – Richtungskämpfe im Verein für Socialpolitik. Wissenschaft und Sozialpolitik im Kaiserreich vornehmlich vom Beginn des “Neuen Kurses“ bis zum Ausbruch des Ersten Weltkrieges (1890–1914) –, part I + II., Wiesbaden 1967 (Beihefte zur Vierteljahresschrift für Sozial- und Wirtschaftsgeschichte Nr. 52/53) Jürgen Mittelstraß – Werturteilsstreit –, in: Enzyklopädie: Philosophie und Wissenschaftstheorie, 1996 Wolfgang Schluchter – Wertfreiheit und Verantwortungsethik –, Tübingen 1971 Gustav von Schmoller – Die Volkswirtschaft, die Volkswirtschaftslehre und ihre Methode, 1893 (Frankfurt am Main 1949) Verhandlungen des Vereins für Socialpolitik in Wien, 1909 –, Leipzig 1910. (Schriften des Vereins für Socialpolitik, Band 132) Max Weber and Johannes F. Winckelmann (editor) – Gesammelte Aufsätze zur Wissenschaftslehre -, Tübingen 1988, ISBN 3-16-845373-0

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Werturteilsstreit

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Werturteilsstreit claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Werturteilsstreit before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Werturteilsstreit ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Werturteilsstreit

In research: Werturteilsstreit appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Werturteilsstreit in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Werturteilsstreit is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Economic controversies, German words and phrases, Max Weber, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Werturteilsstreit outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Werturteilsstreit in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Werturteilsstreit means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Werturteilsstreit out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Werturteilsstreit in simple terms?

Why does Werturteilsstreit matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Werturteilsstreit?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Werturteilsstreit.