Nadezhda Kasavina

Today, when disappointment in cultural and social progress after the disasters and upheavals of the 20th century has not yet been overcome, new ways of understanding the role of science in society and culture have emerged, and questions about the vocation of the scientist are particularly acute. The report by M. Weber "Science as a Vocation" does not lose its relevance today. This is a problem testament of a thinker to many generations of scientists. It contains a controversial call for the value neutrality of science and states the inevitability of the scientist's appeal to the “last questions” of existence. The article deals with the existential problems, that received problematic coverage in M. Weber's report:  the vocation of a scientist, the specifics of his professional activity, the specialization and essence of science, the specifics of scientific activity, etc. It is shown that for understanding the existential significance of science, Weber turned to the foundations of morality, which were formulated by L. Tolstoy. The author focuses on the value bases of scientific knowledge, as Weber formulated them, and shows that they are acquiring a special meaning today in the framework of interdisciplinary research. Weber is trying to bring science back to reality, believing that it will allow it to disengage from religion and idealistic philosophy. And this idea of Weber, as shown in the article, is also relevant today, when science is trying to perform its cognitive functions, separating itself from political and economic conditions.