Robert K. Merton
The Celebration and Defense of Science
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 11628323 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Everett Mendelsohn (Harvard University, corresponding author) |
| Year | 1989 |
| Volume | 3 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 269-289 |
| Publication date | 1989-01-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Science in Context (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0269-8897 • E-ISSN: 1474-0664 |
| Publisher | Cambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1017/s0269889700000806 |
| OpenAlex | W2114814359 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 8 |
| References cited | 19 |
The Argument In Merton's early work in the sociology of science three theses are identified: (1) economic and military influence in shaping early modern science; (2) the “Puritan spur” to scientific activity; (3) the critical role of a democratic social order for the support of science. These themes are located in the contemporary economic crisis of the 1930s, the rise of Nazism and fascism, and the emerging radical and Marxist political activism of scientists in the United States and the United Kingdom. Merton's interaction with this context is critical for understanding his choice of problems and issues for the nascent sociology of science. The enunciation of the four-part normative structure of science is closely identified with the political ideals of this context. Merton's transition from an interest in problems of science in society to his postwar concern with the social and organizational structures of science and the social behavior of scientists is framed against the anticommunist and anti-Marxist thrust of immediate postwar politics in the United States. The implications of this change for the paradigms of the sociology of science are noted
Argument (complex analysis · Context (archaeology · Democracy · Environmental ethics · Epistemology · Marxist philosophy · Normative · Political science · Politics · Social science · Sociology · Sociology of scientific knowledge · Chemistry · Contemporary Sociological Theory and Practice · Law · Philosophy · Philosophy and History of Science
Science and the social order
The sociology of science
A Note on Science and Democracy?
Die soziale Funktion der Wissenschaft
The Sociology of Science in Europe
The Idea of Social Structure
Role of the Intellectual in Public Bureaucracy
The Sorokin-Merton Correspondence on “Puritanism, Pietism and Science,” 1933–34
The Socio-political Roots of Boris Hessen
Science and the Social Order
The Sociology of Science in Europe
Science and the Economy of Seventeenth Century England
Science and Social Welfare in the Age of Newton
Priorities in Scientific Discovery
Social Theory and Social Structure
Puritanism, Pietism, and Science
Science, Technology and Society in Seventeenth Century England
| Unique citing works | 8 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,29 |
| Citation span | 1998 - 2022 (25) |
| Citation velocity | historical |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 8 |