“suggest that we think of theories as spotlight. this imagery is useful. a spotlight will only illuminate so much. wiht any theory there will always be the things that are left in darkness, still unexamined and unexplained. parsons referred to these as'residual categories.”

Source: The structure of social action (1937), p. 17

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update June 3, 2021. History

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Do you have more details about the quote "suggest that we think of theories as spotlight. this imagery is useful. a spotlight will only illuminate so much. wiht …" by Talcott Parsons?
Talcott Parsons photo
Talcott Parsons 17
American sociologist 1902–1979

Related quotes

Margaret Sanger photo

“John Parsons: Don’t you think such a theory, such a radical theory, is anti-social?”

Margaret Sanger (1879–1966) American birth control activist, educator and nurse

One Minute News (1947), interview with British Pathé's John Parsons

Emily Hahn photo

“The mind of a traveler has only one spotlight, and it is always trained on the present scene.”

Emily Hahn (1905–1997) American writer

Times and Places

Marshall McLuhan photo

“Writing turned a spotlight on the high, dim Sierras of speech; writing was the visualization of acoustic space. It lit up the dark.”

Marshall McLuhan (1911–1980) Canadian educator, philosopher, and scholar-- a professor of English literature, a literary critic, and a …

Source: 1960s, Counterblast (1969), p. 14

Robert T. Kiyosaki photo

“Money often puts a spotlight on what we do not know.”

Robert T. Kiyosaki (1947) American finance author , investor

Rich Dad Poor Dad: What the Rich Teach Their Kids About Money-That the Poor and the Middle Class Do Not!

Ludovico Ariosto photo

“Wherever I am, people always know
as if a spotlight were on me with its glow.”

Ch'ovunque io vada o stia,
Mi fa sempre apparir la luce mia.
Canto XXIII, stanza 36 (tr. D. R. Slavitt)
Orlando Furioso (1532)

John C. Slater photo
Jane Roberts photo

“When we believe that science or religion "has the truth," we stop our speculations. While still referring to the theory of evolution, science accepts it as a fact, about existence, and therefore any speculation that threatens that theory becomes almost heretical.”

Jane Roberts (1929–1984) American Writer

Source: The God of Jane: A Psychic Manifesto (1981), p. 58
Context: When we believe that science or religion "has the truth," we stop our speculations. While still referring to the theory of evolution, science accepts it as a fact, about existence, and therefore any speculation that threatens that theory becomes almost heretical. So often it seems that there is no other choice in the matter of man's origin than a meaningless universe and an earth populated by creatures who fight for survival, or a universe created by Christianity's objectified God. And to me, at least, the Eastern religions present no acceptable answers, either.

Chuck Palahniuk photo
Prevale photo

“The real gesture of help is never done in the spotlight.”

Prevale (1983) Italian DJ and producer

Original: Il vero gesto di aiuto non si fa mai sotto i riflettori.
Source: prevale.net

Margaret Sanger photo

“John Parsons: But Mrs. Slee in this country having babies is the only thing left which is both unrationed and untaxed, do you think we really ought to stop?”

Margaret Sanger (1879–1966) American birth control activist, educator and nurse

One Minute News (1947), interview with British Pathé's John Parsons

Related topics