Funzioni latenti e paradigma indiziario. Termini di una convergenza

The aim of this contribution is to reconstruct the affinity existing between the concept of latent function (R.K. Merton) and the notion of evidential paradigm (C. Ginzburg). The article raises the possibility of a combination of the two perspectives, from a methodological and trans-disciplinary point of view. The unprecedented nature of the similarities found forces to re-examine the underlying logic in the latent functions as well as in the evidential paradigm, emphasizing some elements that appear not necessarily clear to the authors themselves