On the Very Idea of an Ideal Type

Abstract

The concept of ideal type plays an essential role in Max Weber’s social science. Unfortunately Weber failed to explain exactly what an ideal type really is. This question cannot be answered as long as the source of the concept is not identified. We will examine some possible sources and argue that the work of the physicist and physiologist Hermann von Helmholtz is the most plausible source. Our purpose is to show that a consideration of several key essays by Helmholtz shows what Weber meant with his concept of ideal type: namely the result of a specific kind of induction.