Open AccessThe sociology of Merton: the indeterminacy of action and social structures
Author(s) -
Fabrizio Martire
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
quaderni di sociologia
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2421-5848
pISSN - 0033-4952
DOI - 10.4000/qds.764
Subject(s) - indeterminacy (philosophy) , epistemology , action (physics) , determinism , sociology , ambivalence , theme (computing) , social psychology , psychology , philosophy , computer science , operating system , physics , quantum mechanics
In the paper I claim that the philosophical and scientific idea of indeterminacy is a leading – and not always explicit – theme of the thought of Merton. Some of the main contributions of Merton to sociology (his reflections on the concepts of unintended consequences of purposive social action, self-fulfilling prophecy, latent function, sociological ambivalence and serendipity; his definition and analysis of anomie) draw attention on several kinds of indeterminacy: that of intents in causing consequences; that of social conditions on behaviour; that of real world to scientific theory. In the last part of the paper I argue that the non-determinism of the thought of Merton has relevant implications at a meta-theoretical level, directing him to the construction / definition of concepts\udrather than of general theories about society