Discussion
Who gave the concept of “following a rule” with reference to objectivity in social science ?
Answer: B
The official key gives Weber.
Max Weber used “following a rule” as a concept in his methodological writings. In his critique of Rudolf Stammler he argued that acting in accordance with a rule is not what separates social life from nature, because even a lone individual can be described as following rules, and that the social scientist must separate what a rule says from how people actually behave. This sits within his wider discussion of objectivity, where meaning-oriented action is analysed through ideal types rather than taken as a given fact.
Durkheim treated social facts as external and constraining, and his Rules of Sociological Method (see Q26) concerns the rules for studying them, not rule-following as a concept. Spencer and Parsons are not associated with the phrase. What could not be confirmed is that the examiner meant Weber's essay on Stammler rather than Peter Winch's later, Wittgensteinian use of rule-following; Weber is the only option among the four who wrote on the concept, so the key is kept.
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