Max Weber was right in subscribing to the view that one need not be Caesar in order to understand Caesar. But there is a temptation for us theoretical sociologists to act sometimes as though it is not necessary even to… — Robert K. Merton Copy Share Image
The purely abstract theorist runs the risk that, as with modern decor, the furniture of the mind will be sparse, bare, and uncomfortable. — Robert K. Merton Copy Share Image
Most institutions demand unqualified faith; but the institution of science makes skepticism a virtue. — Robert K. Merton Copy Share Image
The self-fulfilling prophecy is, in the beginning, a false definition of the situation evoking a new behavior which makes the originally false conception come… — Robert K. Merton Copy Share Image
We thus begin to see that the institutionalized practice of citations and references in the sphere of learning is not a trivial matter. While… — Robert K. Merton Copy Share Image
Max Weber was right in subscribing to the view that one need not be Caesar in order to understand Caesar. But there is a… — Robert K. Merton Copy Share Image
Only when he has published his ideas and findings has the scientist made his contribution, and only when he has thus made it part… — Robert K. Merton Copy Share Image
