Provoking misunderstanding: a comment on Black's defence of value‐free sociology

This paper is a response to a recent article dealing with the concept of value‐free sociology by Donald Black. It argues that while a defence of Weber's position on the role of values in sociological research is necessary and important, what is offered by Black is counter‐productive in important respects. This is because it encourages some of the misunderstandings that it is aimed at remedying and, even more importantly, offers a simplistic discussion of what are complex issues.