The ideal type, German Idealtypus, is a methodological tool developed by sociologist Max Weber: a mental construct formed by the one-sided accentuation of one or more points of view, deliberately simplifying and exaggerating a phenomenon so it can serve as a conceptual measuring rod against which concrete historical cases are compared. Weber stressed that an ideal type is not ideal in the sense of excellent, nor a statistical average; it is rarely, if ever, found in pure form in the real world. Weber introduced and developed the concept across his methodological essays of the early 1900s, including his 1904 essay on objectivity in social science, and used constructed ideal types such as bureaucracy and the Protestant work ethic throughout his later sociology. This description is adapted from Wikipedia contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0; changes were made. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/
Facts
Core ClaimSourced to the subject's own accountA useful analytical concept in social science is not an average of real cases or a description of an especially good case, but a deliberately one-sided, exaggerated mental construct built by accentuating specific traits, against which messier real cases can be measured and compared. 1 Origin YearSourced to the subject's own account1904 marks Weber's essay on the objectivity of knowledge in social science and social policy, the first systematic statement of the method; he continued refining and applying it through his later methodological writings up to 1917. Connections
Associated With
Both are Weberian methodological concepts for interpretive sociology: Verstehen names the interpretive act, the ideal type names the constructed measuring rod that act is checked against.
Developed By
Sources
1. Wikipedia: Ideal Type
WikipediaLead section, definition
It is not ideal in the sense that it is excellent, nor is it an average; it is, rather, a constructed ideal.
Lead section, Weber attribution
Ideal type...is a typological term most closely associated with the sociologist Max Weber (1864-1920).
Timeline section, methodological essays
Weber introduced and developed the concept during the early 1900s.
Lead section, alternate name
Ideal type (German: Idealtypus), also known as pure type.
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