Talcott Parsons — American Sociologist born on December 13, 1902, died on May 08, 1979

Talcott Parsons was an American sociologist who served on the faculty of Harvard University from 1927 to 1973... (wikipedia)

Among those who are satisfactory in this respect it is desirable to have represented as great a diversity of intellectual tradition, social milieu and personal character as possible.
The functions of the family in a highly differentiated society are not to be interpreted as functions directly on behalf of the society, but on behalf of personality.
The conception that, instead of this, contemporary society is at or near a turning point is very prominent in the views of a school of social scientists who, though they are still comparatively few, are getting more and more of a hearing.
From all this it follows what the general character of the problem of the development of a body of scientific knowledge is, in so far as it depends on elements internal to science itself.
Theory not only formulates what we know but also tells us what we want to know, that is, the questions to which an answer is needed.