Sociology of quantification

According to a review published in 2018, the sociology of quantification is an expanding field which includes the literature on the quantified self, on algorithms, and on various forms of metrics and indicators.{{Cite journal |last=Berman |first=Elizabeth Popp |last2=Hirschman |first2=Daniel |date=2018 |title=The Sociology of Quantification: Where Are We Now? |journal=Contemporary Sociology |volume=47 |issue=3 |pages=257–266 |doi=10.1177/0094306118767649}} 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."{{Cite journal |last=Diaz-Bone |first=Rainer |last2=Didier |first2=Emmanuel |date=2016 |title=The Sociology of Quantification - Perspectives on an Emerging Field in the Social Sciences |journal=Historical Social Research |volume=41 |issue=2 |pages=7–26 |jstor=43798480}} Older works which can be classified under the heading of the sociology of quantification are Theodore Porter’s Trust in Numbers,{{Cite book |last=Porter |first=Theodore |author-link=Theodore Porter |title=Trust in Numbers: The Pursuit of Objectivity in Science and Public Life |title-link=Trust in numbers |publisher=Princeton University Press |year=2020 |isbn=9780691208411 |edition=paperback |orig-date=1995}} the works of French sociologists Pierre Bourdieu{{Cite book |last=Bruno |first=Isabelle |title=Statactivisme: Comment Lutter avec des Nombres |last2=Didier |first2=Emmanuel |last3=Prévieux |first3=Julien |publisher=La Découverte |year=2014 |isbn=9782355220548 |series=Zones |language=fr}}{{Cite book |title=Quantifying Theory: Pierre Bourdieu |publisher=Springer |year=2009 |isbn=978-1-4020-9449-1 |editor-last=Robson |editor-first=Karen |editor-link=Karen Robson (sociologist) |editor-last2=Sanders |editor-first2=Chris}} and Alain Desrosières,{{Cite book |last=Desrosières |first=Alain |author-link=Alain Desrosières |title=The Politics of Large Numbers: A History of Statistical Reasoning |title-link=The Politics of Large Numbers |publisher=Harvard University Press |year=2002 |isbn=9780674009691 |translator-last=Naish |translator-first=Camille}} and the classic works on probability by Ian Hacking{{Cite book |last=Hacking |first=Ian |author-link=Ian Hacking |title=The Taming of Chance |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=1990 |isbn=9780521388849}} and Lorraine Daston.{{Cite book |last=Daston |first=Lorraine |author-link=Lorraine Daston |title=Classical Probability in the Enlightenment |publisher=Princeton University Press |year=1995 |isbn=9780691006444 |edition=paperback |orig-date=1988}} The discipline gained traction due to the increasing importance and scope of quantification, its relation to the economics of conventions,{{Cite journal |last=Salais |first=Robert |date=2012 |title=Quantification and the Economics of Convention |journal=Historical Social Research |volume=37 |issue=4 |pages=55–63 |jstor=41756473}} and the perception of its dangers as a weapon of oppression{{Cite book |last=Espeland |first=Wendy Nelson |title=Engines of Anxiety: Academic Rankings, Reputation, and Accountability |last2=Sauder |first2=Michael |publisher=Russell Sage Foundation |year=2016 |jstor=10.7758/9781610448567}}{{Cite book |last=Muller |first=Jerry Z. |title=The Tyranny of Metrics |publisher=Princeton University Press |year=2018 |isbn=9780691174952}}{{Cite book |last=O'Neil |first=Cathy |author-link=Cathy O'Neil |title=Weapons of Math Destruction: How Big Data Increases Inequality and Threatens Democracy |title-link=Weapons of Math Destruction |publisher=Random House Publishing Group |year=2016 |isbn=978-0-553-41881-1}} or as means to undesirable ends.{{Cite journal |last=Porter |first=Theodore M. |author-link=Theodore Porter |date=2013 |title=Funny Numbers |journal=Culture Unbound |volume=4 |issue=4 |pages=585–598 |doi=10.3384/cu.2000.1525.124585|doi-access=free }}

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.{{Cite book |last=Merry |first=Sally Engle |author-link=Sally Engle Merry |title=The Seductions of Quantification: Measuring Human Rights, Gender Violence, and Sex Trafficking |publisher=Chicago University Press |year=2016 |isbn=9780226261287}} 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.{{Cite book |last=Supiot |first=Alain |author-link=Alain Supiot |title=Governance by Numbers: The Making of a Legal Model of Allegiance |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |year=2017 |isbn=9781509907748 |language= |translator-last=Brown |translator-first=Saskia}}

The French movement of ‘statactivisme’ 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,{{Cite book |last=Bastani |first=Aaron |author-link=Aaron Bastani |title=Fully Automated Luxury Capitalism: A Manifesto |publisher=Verso |year=2019 |isbn=9781786632623}} spurring a debate on digital socialism.{{Cite news |last=Mostafa |first=Joshua |date=July 23, 2019 |title=The Revolution Will Not Be Automated: Joshua Mostafa on Shoshana Zuboff |url=https://sydneyreviewofbooks.com/reviews/the-revolution-will-not-be-automated |access-date=December 9, 2024 |work=Sydney Review of Books}}{{Cite journal |last=Morozov |first=Evgeny |author-link=Evgeny Morozov |date=March–June 2019 |title=Digital Socialism? The Calculation Debate in the Age of Big Data |url=https://newleftreview.org/issues/ii116/articles/evgeny-morozov-digital-socialism |journal=New Left Review |issue=116/117 |pages=33–67}} 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".{{Cite journal |last=Mennicken |first=Andrea |last2=Espeland |first2=Wendy Nelson |date=2019 |title=What’s New with Numbers? Sociological Approaches to the Study of Quantification |journal=Annual Review of Sociology |volume=45 |issue=1 |pages=223–245 |doi=10.1146/annurev-soc-073117-041343}} These authors discuss the new patterns of visibility and obscurity created by quantitative technologies, how these influence relations of power, and how neoliberal 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,{{Cite book |title=The New Politics of Numbers: Utopia, Evidence and Democracy |title-link=The New Politics of Numbers |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan |year=2022 |isbn=978-3-030-78201-6 |editor-last=Mennicken |editor-first=Andrea |series=Executive Politics and Governance |doi=10.1007/978-3-030-78201-6 |editor-last2=Salais |editor-first2=Robert}} with contributions encompassing Foucauldian studies of governmentality, 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{{Cite book |last=Supiot |first=Alain |author-link=Alain Supiot |url=https://www.fayard.fr/sciences-humaines/la-gouvernance-par-les-nombres-9782213681092 |title=La Gouvernance par les nombres: Cours au Collège de France 2012-2013 |date=March 18, 2015 |publisher=Fayard |isbn=9782213681092 |language=fr}} and artificial intelligence posing a threat to democracy and to democratic agency.{{Cite book |last=Salais |first=Robert |title=The New Politics of Numbers: Utopia, Evidence and Democracy |title-link=The New Politics of Numbers |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan |year=2022 |isbn=978-3-030-78201-6 |editor-last=Mennicken |editor-first=Andrea |series=Executive Politics and Governance |pages=379–415 |chapter=La Donnée n’est Pas Un Donné: Statistics, Quantification and Democratic Choice |doi=10.1007/978-3-030-78201-6 |editor-last2=Salais |editor-first2=Robert}}{{Cite book |last=McQuillan |first=Dan |title=Resisting AI: An Anti-fascist Approach to Artificial Intelligence |title-link=Resisting AI |publisher=Bristol University Press |year=2022 |isbn=978-1529213508}}

Mathematical modelling is a field of interest for sociology of quantification,{{Cite book |title=Models as Mediators: Perspectives on Natural and Social Science |title-link=Models as Mediators |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2010 |isbn=9780511660108 |editor-last=Morgan |editor-first=Mary S. |editor-link=Mary S. Morgan |edition=ebook |doi=10.1017/CBO9780511660108 |orig-date=1999 |editor-last2=Morrison |editor-first2=Margaret |editor-link2=Margaret Morrison (philosopher)}} 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'{{Cite journal |last=Rhodes |first=Tim |last2=Lancaster |first2=Kari |date=May 13, 2020 |title=Mathematical models as public troubles in COVID-19 infection control: following the numbers |journal=Health Sociology Review |volume=29 |issue=2 |pages=177–194 |doi=10.1080/14461242.2020.1764376|hdl=1959.4/unsworks_67427 |hdl-access=free }} 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.{{Cite journal |last=Saltelli |first=Andrea |author-link=Andrea Saltelli |last2=Bammer |first2=Gabriele |last3=Bruno |first3=Isabelle |last4=Charters |first4=Erica |last5=Di Fiore |first5=Monica |last6=Didier |first6=Emmanuel |last7=Espeland |first7=Wendy Nelson |last8=Kay |first8=John |last9=Piano |first9=Samuele Lo |last10=Mayo |first10=Deborah |author-link10=Deborah Mayo |last11=Pielke Jr. |first11=Roger |author-link11=Roger A. Pielke Jr. |last12=Portaluri |first12=Tommaso |last13=Porter |first13=Theodore M. |author-link13=Theodore Porter |last14=Puy |first14=Arnald |last15=Rafols |first15=Ismael |last16=Ravetz |first16=Jerome R. |author-link16=Jerome Ravetz |last17=Reinert |first17=Erik |author-link17=Erik S. Reinert |last18=Sarewitz |first18=Daniel |last19=Stark |first19=Philip B. |last20=Stirling |first20=Andrew |author-link20=Andy Stirling |last21=van der Sluijs |first21=Jeroen |last22=Vineis |first22=Paolo |author-link22=Paolo Vineis |date=June 24, 2020 |title=Five ways to ensure that models serve society: a manifesto |journal=Nature |volume=582 |pages=482–484 |doi=10.1038/d41586-020-01812-9|hdl=1885/219031 |hdl-access=free }} 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, Adrienne van den Boogard, and Stephan Hartmann.{{Cite journal |last=Guala |first=Francesco |last2=Psillos |first2=Stathis |date=2001 |title=Models as Mediators. Perspectives on Natural and Social Science, Mary S. Morgan and Margaret Morrison (eds.). Cambridge University Press, 1999, xi + 401 pages |journal=Economics and Philosophy |volume=17 |issue=2 |pages=275–294 |doi=10.1017/S0266267101230272}} A later work by Morgan offers elements of history, sociology and epistemology of modelling in economics and econometrics.{{Cite book |last=Morgan |first=Mary S. |author-link=Mary S. Morgan |title=The World in the Model: How Economists Work and Think |date=September 17, 2012 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-1-107-00297-5 |doi=10.1017/CBO9781139026185}} Relevant material for a sociology of mathematical models can be found in the works of Ian Scoones and Andy Stirling,{{Cite book |last=Scoones |first=Ian |title=Navigating Uncertainty: Radical Rethinking for a Turbulent World |date= |publisher=Polity Press |year=2024 |isbn=978-1-5095-6008-0}}{{Cite book |first= |title=The Politics of Uncertainty: The Challenges of Transformation |publisher=Routledge |year=2020 |isbn=978-1-00-302384-5 |editor-last=Scoones |editor-first=Ian |doi=10.4324/9781003023845 |editor-last2=Stirling |editor-first2=Andy |editor-link2=Andy Stirling}} in Mirowski’s Machine Dreams, in Evelyn Fox Keller Making Sense of Life, Jean Baudrillard's Simulacra and Simulation, in Bruno Latour and Steve Woolgar's Laboratory Life.

The role of quantification in historiography and macrohistory is the subject of The Measure of Reality: Quantification in Western Europe, 1250-1600, a 1997 nonfiction book by Alfred W. Crosby. 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.{{cite book |last=Crosby |first=Alfred W. |author-link=Alfred W. Crosby |title=The Measure of Reality: Quantification in Western Europe, 1250–1600 |vauthors= |date= |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=1996 |isbn=978-0-521-55427-5 |doi=10.1017/CBO9781107050518}}

==Links==

• [https://www.ajl.org/ Algorithmic Justice League.]
• [https://datajusticelab.org/ Cardiff University: “Data Justice Lab”, School of Journalism, Media and Culture.]
• [https://en.ird.fr/project-sssq-society-social-studies-quantification French National Research Institute for Sustainable Development: “Project SSSQ - Society for the Social Studies of Quantification.]

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Category:Quantification (science)

Category:Science and technology studies