The concept of 'paradox' in the work of Max Weber

This article argues that Max Weber's use of the concept of paradox has been relatively under-examined in the secondary literature. It argues that there is a highly distinctive form of paradox that Weber uses extensively throughout his writings. Weber deploys this term in two main senses: as a universal condition of human action; and as a specific way of understanding the logic of western modernity. The article suggests that this latter sense lies at the heart of Weber's understanding of agency in modernity.