The sociology of quantification is the investigation of
quantification as a sociological phenomenon in its own right.
Content
According to a review published in 2018, the ''sociology of quantification'' is an expanding field which includes the literature on the
quantified self
Quantified self is both the cultural phenomenon of self-tracking with technology and a community of users and makers of self-tracking tools who share an interest in "self-knowledge through numbers". Quantified self practices overlap with the pract ...
, on algorithms, and on various forms of metrics and indicators.
A prior review in 2016 names a similar range of topics: "quantification processes in the sciences, quantification in society driven by the sciences, quantification processes driven by other social processes, including for example implementations of numeric technologies, standardization procedures, bureaucratic management, political decision-taking and newer trends as self-quantification." Older works which can be classified under the heading of the sociology of quantification are
Theodore Porter’s ''Trust in Numbers'', the works of French sociologists
Pierre Bourdieu
Pierre Bourdieu (, ; ; ; 1 August 1930 – 23 January 2002) was a French sociologist and public intellectual. Bourdieu's contributions to the sociology of education, the theory of sociology, and sociology of aesthetics have achieved wide influ ...
and
Alain Desrosières
Alain Desrosières (18 April 1940 – 15 February 2013) was a statistician, sociologist and historian of science in France, known for his work in the history of statistics. He is the author of '' The Politics of Large Numbers: A History of Statist ...
, and the classic works on probability by
Ian Hacking
Ian MacDougall Hacking (February 18, 1936 – May 10, 2023) was a Canadian philosopher specializing in the philosophy of science. Throughout his career, he won numerous awards, such as the Killam Prize for the Humanities and the Balzan Prize, ...
and
Lorraine Daston
Lorraine Jenifer Daston (born June 9, 1951) is an American historian of science. She is director emerita of the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science (MPIWG) in Berlin, visiting professor in the Committee on Social Thought at the U ...
. The discipline gained traction due to the increasing importance and scope of quantification,
its relation to the economics of conventions, and the perception of its dangers as a weapon of oppression
or as means to undesirable ends.
For
Sally Engle Merry quantification is a technology of control, but whether it is reformist or authoritarian depends on who harnessed it and for what purpose. The ‘governance by numbers’ is seen by jurist
Alain Supiot as repudiating the goal of governing by just laws, advocating in its stead the attainment of measurable objectives. For Supiot the normative use of economic quantification leaves no option for countries and economic actors than to ride roughshod over social legislation, and pledge allegiance to stronger powers.
The French movement of ‘
statactivism The French movement of statactivism advocates for the mobilization of statistics in support to social movements and agendas.
Content
The program of French statactivistts is to ‘fight against’ as well as ‘fight with’ numbers, using a vari ...
e’ suggests fighting numbers with numbers under the slogan “a new number is possible".
On the other extreme, algorithmic automation is seen as an instrument of liberation by
Aaron Bastani, spurring a debate on
digital socialism. According to Espeland and Stevens
an
ethics of quantification would naturally descend from a sociology of quantification, especially at an age where democracy, merit, participation, accountability and even "fairness" are assumed to be best discovered and appreciated via numbers. Andrea Mennicken and Wendy Espeland provide a review (2019) of the main concerns about the "increasing expansion of quantification into all realms, including into people’s personal lives". These authors discuss the new patterns of visibility and obscurity created by quantitative technologies, how these influence relations of power, and how
neoliberal
Neoliberalism is a political and economic ideology that advocates for free-market capitalism, which became dominant in policy-making from the late 20th century onward. The term has multiple, competing definitions, and is most often used pej ...
regimes of quantification favour 'economization', where "individuals, activities, and organizations are constituted or framed as economic actors and entities." Mennicken and Robert Salais have curated in 2022 a multi-author volume titled
''The New Politics of Numbers: Utopia, Evidence and Democracy'', with contributions encompassing
Foucauldian studies of
governmentality
Governmentality is a theory of power developed by French philosopher Michel Foucault, which analyses ''governmental" power through both the power states have over the population and the means by which subjects govern themselves.
As a form of pow ...
, which first flourished in the English-speaking world, and studies of state statistics known as ‘economics of convention’, developed mostly at
INSEE in France. A theme treated by several authors is the relationship between quantification and democracy, with regimes of algorithmic governmentality and artificial intelligence posing a threat to democracy and to democratic agency.
Mathematical model
A mathematical model is an abstract and concrete, abstract description of a concrete system using mathematics, mathematical concepts and language of mathematics, language. The process of developing a mathematical model is termed ''mathematical m ...
ling is a field of interest for sociology of quantification,
and the intensified use of mathematical models in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic has spurred a debate on how society uses models. Rhodes and Lancaster speak of 'model as public troubles' and starting from models as boundary objects call for a better relation between models and society. Other authors propose five principles for making models serve society, on the premise that modelling is a social activity. Models as mediators between 'theories' and 'the world' are discussed in a multi-author book edited by
Mary S. Morgan and Margaret Morrison
that offers several examples from physics and economics. The volume provides a historical and philosophical discussion of what models are and of what models do, with contributions from the authors as well as from scholars such as
Ursula Klein, Marcel Boumans, R.I.G. Hughes,
Mauricio Suárez,
Geert Reuten,
Nancy Cartwright
Nancy Jean Cartwright (born October 25, 1957) is an American actress, best known as the long-time voice of Bart Simpson on ''The Simpsons'', for which she won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Voice-Over Performance and an Annie Award f ...
, Adrienne van den Boogard, and
Stephan Hartmann. A later work by
Morgan
Morgan may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* ''Morgan – A Suitable Case for Treatment'', also called ''Morgan!'', a 1966 comedy film
* ''Morgan'' (2012 film), an American drama
* ''Morgan'' (2016 film), an American science fiction thriller
* ...
offers elements of history, sociology and epistemology of modelling in economics and econometrics. Relevant material for a sociology of mathematical models can be found in the works of Ian Scoones and
, in
Mirowski’s ''Machine Dreams'', in
Evelyn Fox Keller
Evelyn Fox Keller (March 20, 1936 – September 22, 2023) was an American physicist, author, and feminist. She was Professor Emerita of History and Philosophy of Science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Keller's early work concentr ...
''Making Sense of Life'',
Jean Baudrillard
Jean Baudrillard (, ; ; – 6 March 2007) was a French sociology, sociologist and philosopher with an interest in cultural studies. He is best known for his analyses of media, contemporary culture, and technological communication, as well as hi ...
's ''
Simulacra and Simulation
''Simulacra and Simulation'' () is a 1981 philosophical treatise by the philosopher and cultural theorist Jean Baudrillard, in which he seeks to examine the relationships between reality, symbols, and society, in particular the significations ...
'', in
Bruno Latour
Bruno Latour (; ; 22 June 1947 – 9 October 2022) was a French philosopher, anthropologist and sociologist.Wheeler, Will. ''Bruno Latour: Documenting Human and Nonhuman Associations'' Critical Theory for Library and Information Science. Librari ...
and
Steve Woolgar
Stephen William Woolgar (born 14 February 1950) is a British sociologist. He has worked closely with Bruno Latour, with whom he wrote '' Laboratory Life: The Construction of Scientific Facts'' (1979).
Education
Stephen Woolgar holds a BA (F ...
's ''
Laboratory Life
''Laboratory Life: The Social Construction of Scientific Facts'' is a 1979 book by sociologists of science Bruno Latour and Steve Woolgar.
This influential book in the field of science studies presents an anthropological study of Roger Guill ...
''.
The role of
quantification in
historiography
Historiography is the study of the methods used by historians in developing history as an academic discipline. By extension, the term ":wikt:historiography, historiography" is any body of historical work on a particular subject. The historiog ...
and
macrohistory
Macrohistory seeks out large, long-term trends in world history in search of ultimate patterns by a comparison of proximate details. It favors a comparative or world-historical perspective to determine the roots of changes as well as the developmen ...
is the subject of ''
The Measure of Reality: Quantification in Western Europe, 1250-1600'', a 1997 nonfiction book by
Alfred W. Crosby
Alfred Worcester Crosby Jr. (January 15, 1931 – March 14, 2018) was a professor of History, Geography, and American Studies at the University of Texas at Austin, and University of Helsinki. He was the author of books including '' The Columbian ...
. The book examines the origins and effects of quantitative thinking in post-medieval European history, suggesting it as a major factor in the ensuing development of European arts and techniques.
Links
Algorithmic Justice League.Cardiff University: “Data Justice Lab”, School of Journalism, Media and Culture.French National Research Institute for Sustainable Development: “Project SSSQ - Society for the Social Studies of Quantification.
References
{{reflist
Quantification (science)
Science and technology studies