3 Quotes & Sayings By Robert K Merton

Robert K. Merton was an economist who published over seventy academic papers, most on the topic of expectations. He is best known for his work on suicide, which he conducted among prisoners in San Quentin, and for his study of insurance and belief.

Most institutions demand unqualified faith but the institution of science...
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Most institutions demand unqualified faith but the institution of science makes skepticism a virtue. Robert K. Merton
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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 study Caesar in order to understand him. Yet we know that the interplay of theory and research makes both for understanding of the specific case and expansion of the general rule. Robert K. Merton