ROBERT MERTON: BIOGRAPHY, SOCIOLOGICAL THEORY, CONTRIBUTIONS, WORKS - BIOGRAPHIES - 2025

Robert Merton (1910-2003) was an American researcher. His goal was for social studies to be recognized in the field of science, so he focused on developing a new method of inquiry, which was aimed at analyzing the behavior of individuals and the organization of state institutions.

The project of this sociologist was to examine the various groups that inhabited the States and determine why their thoughts and actions varied. In this way, it is perceived that some of his works focused on peripheral regions. It stated that the reflections made so far only explained the facts as a whole.

Robert Merton. Source: Eric Koch / Anefo This occurred because specialists did not write about everyday events, which were essential to know to understand reality. Due to this, Merton expressed that the office of humanists was to observe the different customs of the population and establish how the concepts of culture and identity emerged.

The purpose of this author was to institutionalize knowledge: he wanted scientists to value sociology as an academic subject. It should be noted that his work revolutionized the field of research, which is why he was awarded the following awards: the John Desmond Bernal Award (1982), the National Medal of Science (1994) and the Derek de Solla Badge (1995).

In addition, he received the title of Doctor Honoris Causa on more than twenty occasions. Throughout his career he was a member of institutions such as the National Academy of Sciences, the British Academy, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, the American Philosophical Society or the European Academy and American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Biography

Early years

Robert King Merton was born on July 4, 1910, in Philadelphia. He was the son of Jewish immigrants, which is why his first name was Meyer Robert Schkoinick. To avoid prejudice, when he was 14 he said his name was Robert Merlin; but in 1929 he resorted to the legal system with the purpose of renaming himself Robert Merton.

He grew up in an environment where they rejected both discrimination and wars, since his parents indirectly experienced the injustice caused by the warlike movements that took place in Europe at the end of the 19th century; as well as the inequality and chaos caused by the construction of industries, since the labor force was displaced by the machines.

From an early age he was interested in reading and painting. That is why she constantly went to the Andrew Camegie Library and the Museum of Art. In addition, he sought to distance himself from the criminal gangs that lived near his home. She completed her primary and secondary studies at South Philadelphia High School.

In 1927 he obtained a scholarship to study Philosophy at Temple University. At that institute she met the social professor George Simpson, who taught her how the press repudiated the stories and images of dark-skinned people. Sharing with this researcher was fundamental for Robert, since he decided to follow his objective and entered the faculty of Sociology.

Academic life

In the early 1930s, he attended the American Sociological Association event, where he met Pitirim Sorokin, a Russian author who founded the department of social studies at Harvard and convinced Merton to continue his career at Harvard. So she moved to Massachusetts in 1931 and got a scholarship to major in the humanities.

In addition, he began working as Sorokin's assistant. During this time, Robert became passionate about the many perspectives that European sociological works displayed. He also began to read the analyzes of Émile Durkheim and approached the hypothesis of Talcott Parsons. Thanks to the approaches of these writers, Merton began his reflection on functionalism.

Likewise, he dedicated himself to investigating how technology transformed the lives of individuals. In 1933 he reached the position of preparer. In 1934 he married Suzanne Carhart. The couple settled in the Hastings-on-Hudson village and had three children: Stephanie, Robert and Vanessa.

It is worth noting that Robert Junior would be a genius in economics and would win the Nobel Prize in 1997. However, in 1936 Merton defended his doctoral thesis entitled Science, technology and society in 17th century England, a text that would award him the position of teacher headline.

Trajectory

Due to the economic instability generated by the Great Depression (1929), in 1939 Merton moved to New Orleans. In that city he assumed the role of professor at Tulane University. Shortly after he was promoted to director of the School of Sociology; but in mid-1940 he received notification that Columbia University was looking for two social teachers.

He participated and acquired one of the seats, which is why in 1941 he returned to New York. From that moment he focused on teaching and writing. In the course of his work he had several outstanding students, among them were Juan Linz, Peter Blau, Daniel Bell, and Seymour Martin Lipset.

In 1942 he met with Paul Lazarsfeld to write the work Massive Persuasion, which was released in 1946. He was also appointed president of the Office of Applied Social Research, a position he held for about 29 years. In 1947 he was promoted to tenured educator. In 1957 he was handed over the leadership of the American Sociological Association.

In 1968, Merton divorced Carhart and became involved with Harriet Zuckerman. In 1979 he retired as a professor emeritus from Columbia University. From that moment he focused on giving some lectures at the Rockefeller University and editing the texts that would be published in the journal of Qualitative and Quantitative Social Research. He passed away on February 23, 2003.

Sociological theory

For Merton, social structures were what determined man. This author expressed that the individual acted according to the ideals set forth by the country; but not all of them met those parameters due to lack of resources and support. For this reason, certain people used to resort to murder or theft to join the state system.

This was how the process of anomie arose, where the inhabitants lost their identity in order to adjust to an institutional project. The aim of this sociologist was to portray that the needs of the population were not natural, but cultural, since the nation demanded a lifestyle that originated unequal behaviors.

That is to say, the contradictory policies of the governmental organisms caused that the beings developed inadequate reactions. These behaviors were those that the specialists had to examine. He proposed that researchers not rely solely on theories, but on field study.

He expressed that empirical inquiry was the appropriate methodology to understand the organization of society and the different groups that inhabited it.

Merton's theory explained in a box. Source: Wykis

Other contributions

The work carried out by Merton contributed to the formation of sociology as an academic chair. This was because he exposed specific techniques so that the discipline was studied impartially. The purpose was to give a scientific and utilitarian character to the matter. Therefore, the stories had to be described as they occurred, without altering the events.

Another of his contributions was to establish that social analysis was not limited to the area of ​​ideas, it also encompassed the political, economic and technological fields. He highlighted the importance of scientists, who possessed the ability to order cultural manifestations. This sociologist created the concept of scientific ethos, which designated the enmity or union between researchers.

His theory was fundamental for the emergence of Scientometrics, which can be defined as the instrument that details whether a thesis is objective or partial. In order for specialists not to elaborate subjective hypotheses, Robert raised 3 issues that had been little examined during the 20th century:

-The sociology of knowledge.

-The organization of the social system.

-The construction of the communal ideology.

Plays

Throughout his career, Merton wrote 28 works and more than 200 articles. His books stood out for relating peripheral themes, such as crime, the role of immigrants, and racism. In addition, he explained the role of the bureaucracy and the professions. The texts that stood out were:

- The normative structure of science (1942).

- Sociology of science (1957).

- Current Sociology (1959).

- Problems of contemporary society (1961).

- Social research and the exercise of the professions (1982).

- Social and scientific structure (1996).

Social structure and anomie

In this writing it is exposed how capitalism has conditioned being. It narrates that crime is born when the State does not offer opportunities to low-income men, which is why they seek other means to survive. It alludes that science and government institutions are related, since one depends on the other.

Theory and social structure

This work shows that society comprises manifest and latent functions. The former refer to the values ​​that identify the inhabitants, while the latter are characterized by being the customs imposed by the nation, which seek that people adapt to the outside world.

References

1. Coser, L. (2008). Social structure and functionalism, Merton theory. Retrieved on December 29, 2019 from Columbia University: columbia.edu
2. Díaz, O. (2011). Anomie, normality and the function of crime from Robert Merton ¢ s perspective. Retrieved on December 29, 2019 from the Department of Sociology: sociology.fas.harvard.edu
3. Enebakk, V. (2006). Robert Merton ¢ s sociological narrative. Retrieved on December 29, 2019 from Sciencie: sciencemag.org
4. Orozco, L. (2010). Towards a conceptualization of Robert K. Merton. Retrieved on December 29, 2019 from the Journal of Social Studies:incoudsoc.org
5. Stigler, A. (2004). Robert Merton and social innovation. About your peripheral analyzes. Retrieved on December 29, 2019 from John Hopkins University: jhu.edu
6. Torres, N. (2002). Scientometrics and the scientific ethos. Retrieved on December 29, 2019 from the Faculty of Social Sciences: fcs.academia.edu
7. Vaccarezza, C. (2014). Technology, science and society: contemporary Merton hypothesis. Retrieved on December 29, 2019 from School of History: Proyectoshistoricos.ve