ABSTRACT
Deviance theory has developed, as one of its most distinguished contributors had earlier suggested all sociological theory must, in terms of the middle range. The possibility of a general theoretical statement will, of course, depend in part upon the kind of general theory which sociologist use. A shorter comment may be made about the effect of the work of George Mead and what has come to be called symbolic interactionism on sociological theory and on deviance theory. Mead was a philosopher, while Robert Merton was a sociological theorist concerned with many issues other than those of deviance. The point which has been made here, however, is that deviance theory could benefit from relating itself to broader sociological theories, and it has been suggested that there is a certain way of looking at the epistemological problems of sociology, its conceptualizations and its vocabulary, to which deviance theory could profitably affiliate itself.
