ABSTRACT
Using the term ambivalence in the title of a talk honoring the life and work of Robert K. Merton seem perfectly plausible. For one thing, the man himself was the object of considerable ambivalence. Sociologists continue to find it difficult to tolerate the ambiguity involved in such formations. Taking the core idea from the title essay of Sociological Ambivalence, the author would amend this formula to read "socially structured alternatives typically presented in dualistic form, with persisting interest in the foregone alternative only temporarily if at all." Merton stresses the significance of continuously operative counter-norms that alternate with dominant norms in defining social roles. Merton's ambivalence about autonomous theory notwithstanding, it behooves us to revisit his words and deeds that articulate and exemplify the kinds of intellectual work that sociological theory at its best can contribute.
