MERTON, Robert K.

Inquire · Offered by Peter Harrington

"Science, Technology and Society in Seventeenth Century England." First edition, presentation copy, inscribed by the author on the front cover, "To Richard, who helped so much during the travail, Robert". The recipient is likely Richard Deininger, described by Merton as his "roommate, budgeter, and chef" while he was completing his 1936 doctoral dissertation, the basis of this work (Merton, p. 14).The work introduced the Merton thesis, which argued that Puritan themes of utilitarianism were a key influence on the increasing socio-cultural significance of science in 17th-century England. Merton (1910-2003) hypothesised that the Puritan values of Royal Society members served to increase the social standing of science and catalyzed its institutionalization. "Men of science justified their activities in terms of accepted Puritan values, such as their demonstration of God's existence and attributes from the study of Nature, and their suggestion that natural knowledge was ultimately useful" (Shapin, p. 262).It is accompanied by an inscribed offprint of Merton's article, "The Matthew Effect in Science" (Science, vol. 159, no. 3810, 5 Jan. 1968, pp. 56-63). His inscription on the front wrapper reads, "Charles G. Roland, M. D. - from a reader of Jama, Robert Merton". Roland (1933-2009) was a medical historian and the editor of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).

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