Shapin observed that the link Merton drew between Puritanism and seventeenth-century English science was a matter of happenstance rather than determinism. According to Merton, science requires certain “values” and “sentiments” allowing intellectual individualism, and fostering not only an interest in the transcendent, but also secular improvement. It so happened that these values and sentiments were to be found in Puritan asceticism and sense of social obligation, which thus provided a social context in which science could develop.
Definitively, this was not to say that Puritanism provided a unique source of these values and sentiments, or that science did not have other roots. It was obviously possible for science to develop in Catholic contexts as well, despite the less hospitable value system of Catholicism. The confluence of values simply seemed to promise some insight into the growth of science in a particular time and place.
thinkahol * on 19 Oct 11The studies found:People who perceive their car as a reflection of their self-identity are more likely to behave aggressively on the road and break the law.People with compulsive tendencies are more likely to drive aggressively with disregard for potential consequences.Increased materialism, or the importance of one's possessions, is linked to increased aggressive driving tendencies.Young people who are in the early stages of forming their self-identity might feel the need to show off their car and driving skills more than others. They may also be overconfident and underestimate the risks involved in reckless driving.Those who admit to aggressive driving also admit to engaging in more incidents of breaking the law.A sense of being under time and pressure leads to more aggressive driving.
