Bloomsbury Measurement and Meaning

Measurement and Meaning takes stock of the most important projects in the conceptual grounding of measurement, from early representational theories through the axiomatic approach to operationalism. Ferenc Csatári thoroughly analyzes the relevant philosophical issues and identifies the controversial points in these accounts. Meanwhile, he pays special attention to the peculiarities of measurement in the social sciences. As long as measurement is conceived as an assignment of numerical structures to represent properties-as traditionally done-one might feel obliged to account for continuum, errors, and truth. Csatári puts these key concepts under scrutiny and arrives at a non-trivial, constructive interpretation for each. On these new conceptual grounds, the active quest for congruence in phenomena will be the key to establishing meaningful measurement procedures. Review This book is a highly valuable contribution to the recently revitalized field of the philosophy of measurement. Ferenc Csatári gives an admirably clear exposition of key existing lines of work in the area, and a well-judged synthesis building up to an original perspective. He provides insightful commentary on various current issues concerning measurement in the social sciences, and generally recommends a moderate and reasonable constructivism. This new account of measurement deserves to be studied with care by experts and novices alike.--Hasok Chang, Hans Rausing Professor of History and Philosophy of Science, University of Cambridge This book is an inspiring analysis developed through conceptual and historical trends, providing philosophical arguments in favor of a constructionist approach to measurement and spanning both physical and non-physical properties.--Luca Mari, LIUC-Università Cattaneo About the Author Ferenc Csatári, PhD, is an independent scholar.