在許多讀者眼中，Max Weber的《基督新教倫理與資本主義精神》似乎是一部具有高度爭議性的作品。如同標題所顯現的，這主要涉及一種存在於基督新教倫理與資本主義精神之間的模糊關聯。其實，許多歷史學家並不同意Weber 所表達的界定與內容─無論是基督新教倫理或是資本主義精神。假如吾人想要進入《新教倫理》的世界，那麼，更為精確地掌握這種關聯，也許就變得不可或缺。本研究在此並不試圖完整闡明此種關聯為何，而是以另類方式探討Weber眼中的因果性─以複合性觀念作為起點，這個觀念使我們得以將《新教倫理》一書，視為對於秩序、混亂及自我組織之間一種建設性對話的描述。在這範圍內，量變－質變是一個值得注意的現象。本研究以此種變化原理來解讀《新教倫理》，認為新教倫理與資本主義精神之間的關聯，或可表述為前者乃是後者的化身─只要轉化的條件獲得滿足。在這範圍內，透過自我組織的作用，不但教義的多元詮釋使得突現（新教倫理）變為可能，就連後者超越臨界點而達到量變－質變（資本主義精神），這都不會是令人訝異的。

In the eyes of the manys readers, it seems that The Protestant Ethics of Weber is a very controversial work. It is essentially about an ambiguous relation, as shows his title, between the protestant ethics and the spirit of the capitalism. Indeed, both for the Protestant ethics and for the spirit of the capitalism, many of historians do not agree with the definition and the contents which Weber expresses. If we want to enter into the world of Protestant Ethics, it would be essential to seize more exactly this relation. We do not here try to illustrate completely what is this relation, but to discuss differently that is the causality according to Weber. Being differently, it is to leave the notion of complexity, notion that allows us to consider The Protestant Ethics as resulting from a productive dialogue between order, chaos and auto-organization. As far as is remarkable the phenomenon transformation of quantitative into qualitative changes. By appling the principle of this transformation to the reading of The Protestant Ethics, we consider that the relation between the Protestant ethics and the spirit of the capitalism, could be formulated by a transformation, if its conditions are satisfied. In so far as it will not be surprising that through the function of the auto-organization, not only the diverse interpretation of dogma makes possible the emergence (the Protestant Ethics), but also this ethics, having exceeded the critical point, reaches the transformation of quantitative into qualitative changes (the spirit of the capitalism).