The sociology of science

Chapter 13 of Merton

• appraisal: the act of estimating or judging the nature or value of something or someone
• jar: to have a sudden and unpleasant effect upon (the feelings, nerves, etc.)
• untenable: incapable of being defended, as an argument, thesis, etc.; indefensible

An institution under attack must reexamine its foundations, restate its objectives, seek out its rationale. Crisis invites self-appraisal. Now that they have been confronted with challenges to their way of life, scientists have been jarred into a state of acute self-consciousness: consciousness of self as an integral element of society with corresponding obligations and interests.
The institutional goal of science is the extension of certified knowledge.
Four sets of institutional imperatives are taken to comprise the ethos of modern science.

Universalism

Organized Skepticism