Abstract:

Grounded in Max Weber's methodology of interpretive sociology, this study investigates the genetic and historical dynamics underlying value-sphere differentiation. It aims to reveal the causal-genetic connections through which supra- individual orders of meaning emerge from individual actions via conscious struggle and competition, as well as non-intentional processes of social selection. On the one hand, conscious struggles and competitions over the acquisition and monopolization of particular values and goods drive the formation of social order through purposive-rational action. On the other hand, supra-individual mechanisms of social selection, operating without the intentional participation of individual actors, filter and reproduce highly adaptive types of action and personality. Through the mechanisms of struggle, competition, and selection, the economic and political spheres, endowed with organizational superiority, have come to dominate the historical process, shaping a modern personality characterized by depersonalization and purposive rationality. The crisis of meaning produced by rationalization had in turn stimulated the sublimation of intrinsic values within responsive spheres such as politics, art, and erotic life, thereby creating the possibility of inner-worldly redemption. Based on the three-stage theory of historical evolution proposed in Intermediate Reflections, it could be argued that the formation of modern personality was rooted in the dualistic worldview established by salvation religions and was profoundly intensified within the highly competitive social relations of early modern Europe. In contrast to the monistic order of the Confucian tradition, Western Christian civilization, through its enduring political and religious tensions, cultivated a competitive personality structure centered on purposive rationality. Within the context of globalization, this personality type has acquired universal historical significance due to its strong adaptive capacity. Thus, struggle, competition, and selection elucidate not only the genetic connections between social order and personality formation but also provide a theoretical framework for extending comparative civilizational studies and for understanding and conceptualizing plural modernities.

Key words: value-sphere differentiation, struggle, competition, selection, modern personality