I love Merton's quote. In my dissertation I talked about something called a sociometer (from Leary's self presentation theory). The sociometer within each of us measures if others' acceptance of us is waning, and alerts us to change our behavior to gain greater social acceptance. So we're saved by personal relationships, but we sacrifice our souls to be accepted. We are hard wired to sacrifice our souls. We have to go against the grain.
I love Merton's quote. In my dissertation I talked about something called a sociometer (from Leary's self presentation theory). The sociometer within each of us measures if others' acceptance of us is waning, and alerts us to change our behavior to gain greater social acceptance. So we're saved by personal relationships, but we sacrifice our souls to be accepted. We are hard wired to sacrifice our souls. We have to go against the grain.