Wilbert E. Moore (26 October 1914 – 29 December 1987) was an American sociologist noted, with

Kingsley Davis Kingsley Davis (August 20, 1908 – February 27, 1997) was an internationally recognized American sociologist and demographer. He was identified by the American Philosophical Society as one of the most outstanding social scientists of the twen ...

, for their explanation and justification for social stratification, based their idea of "functional necessity."

Biography

Moore took his Ph.D. at

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of highe ...

's Department of Sociology in 1940. Moore along with Kingsley Davis, Robert Merton and John Riley were part of

Talcott Parsons Talcott Parsons (December 13, 1902 – May 8, 1979) was an American sociologist of the classical tradition, best known for his social action theory and structural functionalism. Parsons is considered one of the most influential figures in soci ...

first group of PhD students. Moore is perhaps best known for ''Some Principles of Stratification'' (written with Davis). Moore and Davis wrote this paper while at

Princeton University Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ...

where he remained until mid-1960s. This was followed by a period at the

Russell Sage Foundation The Russell Sage Foundation is an American non-profit organisation established by Margaret Olivia Sage in 1907 for “the improvement of social and living conditions in the United States.” It was named after her recently deceased husband, rai ...

before moving to the

University of Denver The University of Denver (DU) is a private research university in Denver, Colorado. Founded in 1864, it is the oldest independent private university in the Rocky Mountain Region of the United States. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Univ ...

where he stayed until his retirement. Moore was the 56th president of the

American Sociological Association The American Sociological Association (ASA) is a non-profit organization dedicated to advancing the discipline and profession of sociology. Founded in December 1905 as the American Sociological Society at Johns Hopkins University by a group of fif ...

and an elected member of the

American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS), founded in 1743 in Philadelphia, is a scholarly organization that promotes knowledge in the sciences and humanities through research, professional meetings, publications, library resources, and communit ...

and the

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (abbreviation: AAA&S) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, a ...

Selected publications

* Davis, Kingsley and Wilbert E. Moore. (1945) Some Principles of Stratification. '' American Sociological Review'' 10 (April): 242–249 * Moore, Wilbert E; Tumin, Melvin (1949). Some social functions of ignorance. '' American Sociological Review'' Vol. 14, No. 6 (Dec., 1949), pp. 787–795 * Moore, Wilbert E. (1964) ''Social Change'', Prentice Hall: New Jersey

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Moore, Wilbert E. 1914 births 1987 deaths American sociologists Presidents of the American Sociological Association Harvard University alumni Place of birth missing Place of death missing Members of the American Philosophical Society

Biography

Selected publications

See also

References