Philosophical and Foundational Issues in Measurement Theory
Philosophical and Foundational Issues in Measurement Theory

Author: C. Wade Savage

Publisher: Psychology Press

Published: 2013-06-17

Total Pages: 206

ISBN-13: 1134758731

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Measurement theory has only recently become recognized as a legitimate, specialized field of inquiry. This text covers a wide range of issues of central concern to contemporary measurement theorists, and a broad range of philosophical perspectives are represented. The formalist, representationalist approach defines measurement as the assignment of numbers to entities and events to represent their properties and relations. It also states that measurement theory is supposed to analyze the concept of a scale of measurement, describe various types of scales and their uses, and formulate the conditions required for the existence of scales of various types. Since this approach dominates contemporary measurement theory, the volume begins with essays by some of its leading architects. In order to allow for diverse points of view, the book also includes articles that attempt to broaden this approach, and several that even criticize the approach.

Measurement in Psychology
Measurement in Psychology

Author: Joel Michell

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 1999-06-17

Total Pages: 268

ISBN-13: 1139425609

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This book traces how such a seemingly immutable idea as measurement proved so malleable when it collided with the subject matter of psychology. It locates philosophical and social influences (such as scientism, practicalism and Pythagoreanism) reshaping the concept and, at the core of this reshaping, identifies a fundamental problem: the issue of whether psychological attributes really are quantitative. It argues that the idea of measurement now endorsed within psychology actually subverts attempts to establish a genuinely quantitative science and it urges a new direction. It relates views on measurement by thinkers such as Holder, Russell, Campbell and Nagel to earlier views, like those of Euclid and Oresme. Within the history of psychology, it considers contributions by Fechner, Cattell, Thorndike, Stevens and Suppes, among others. It also contains a non-technical exposition of conjoint measurement theory and recent foundational work by leading measurement theorist R. Duncan Luce.

Measurement
Measurement

Author: Karel Berka

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2012-12-06

Total Pages: 262

ISBN-13: 9400978286

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For many years, Karel Berka has worked at some of the central problems of the theory of the sciences. At once a logician, a mathematician, a careful student of the physical sciences and the social sciences, and a sharp but sympathetic critic of the major philosophies of science in this century, Berka brings to this treatise on measurement both his technical mastery and his historical sensitivity. We appreciate his careful analysis of his predecessors, notably Helmholtz, Campbell, Holder, Bridgman, Camap, Hempel, and Stevens, and of his contemporaries such as Brian Ellis and also Patrick Suppes and J. L. Zinnes. The issues to be clarified are familiar but still troubling: how to justify the conceptual transition from classification to a metric; how to explore ways to provide a quantitative understanding of a qualitative concept; indeed how to understand, and thereby control, the Galilean enthusiasm "to measure what is measurable and to try to render measurable what is not so as yet".

Measurement in Psychology
Measurement in Psychology

Author: Joel Michell

Publisher:

Published: 2005

Total Pages: 246

ISBN-13:

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(Publisher-supplied data) This book traces how such a seemingly immutable idea as measurement proved so debatable when it collided with the subject matter of psychology. This book addresses philosophical and social influences (such as scientism, practicalism, and Pythagoreanism) reshaping the concept of measurement and identifies a fundamental problem at the core of this reshaping: the issue of whether psychological attributes really are quantitative. The author argues that the idea of measurement now endorsed within psychology actually subverts attempts to establish a genuinely quantitative science, and he urges a new direction. This volume relates views on measurement by thinkers such as Hölder, Russell, Campbell, and Nagel to earlier views, like those of Euclid and Oresme. Within the history of psychology, it considers contributions by Fechner, Cattell, Thorndike, Stevens and Suppes, among others. It also contains a nontechnical exposition of conjoint measurement theory and recent foundational work by leading measurement theorist R. Duncan Luce. This thought-provoking book will be particularly valued by researchers in the fields of psychological history and philosophy of science.

Philosophy of Economics
Philosophy of Economics

Author:

Publisher: Elsevier

Published: 2012-04-23

Total Pages: 929

ISBN-13: 0080930778

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Part of the Handbook of the Philosophy of Science Series edited by: Dov M. Gabbay King's College, London, UK;Paul Thagard University of Waterloo, Canada; and John Woods University of British Columbia, Canada. Philosophy of Economics investigates the foundational concepts and methods of economics, the social science that analyzes the production, distribution and consumption of goods and services. This groundbreaking collection, the most thorough treatment of the philosophy of economics ever published, brings together philosophers, scientists and historians to map out the central topics in the field. The articles are divided into two groups. Chapters in the first group deal with various philosophical issues characteristic of economics in general, including realism and Lakatos, explanation and testing, modeling and mathematics, political ideology and feminist epistemology. Chapters in the second group discuss particular methods, theories and branches of economics, including forecasting and measurement, econometrics and experimentation, rational choice and agency issues, game theory and social choice, behavioral economics and public choice, geographical economics and evolutionary economics, and finally the economics of scientific knowledge. This volume serves as a detailed introduction for those new to the field as well as a rich source of new insights and potential research agendas for those already engaged with the philosophy of economics. - Provides a bridge between philosophy and current scientific findings - Encourages multi-disciplinary dialogue - Covers theory and applications

Standardization in Measurement
Standardization in Measurement

Author: Oliver Schlaudt

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2015-10-06

Total Pages: 271

ISBN-13: 131731669X

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The application of standard measurement is a cornerstone of modern science. In this collection of essays, standardization of procedure, units of measurement and the epistemology of standardization are addressed by specialists from sociology, history and the philosophy of science.

The Metaphysics of Quantities
The Metaphysics of Quantities

Author: J. E. Wolff

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2020-05-27

Total Pages: 224

ISBN-13: 0192573942

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What are physical quantities, and in particular, what makes them quantitative? This book articulates and defends an original answer to this important, insufficiently understood question through the novel position of substantival structuralism. This position argues that quantitativeness is an irreducible feature of attributes, and quantitative attributes are best understood as substantival structured spaces. The book first explores what it means for an attribute to be quantitative, and what metaphysical implications a commitment to quantitative attributes has. It then sets the stage to address the metaphysical and ontological consequences of the existence of quantitative attributes.

Dynamic Assessment, Intelligence and Measurement
Dynamic Assessment, Intelligence and Measurement

Author: Raegan Murphy

Publisher: John Wiley & Sons

Published: 2011-01-06

Total Pages: 296

ISBN-13: 0470977493

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Dynamic Assessment, Intelligence and Measurement paves the way for the development of dynamic assessment by applying this unique approach to the assessment of human potential. Explores the relationship that dynamic assessment shares with intelligence and measurement Outlines a new approach to the assessment of human intelligence while remaining rooted within the scientific realm of psychology Fuses philosophy, science methodology, and meta-theory to offer an innovative framework for the assessment of models and theories, dynamic assessment, intelligence, measurement theory, and statistical significance testing Provides the theoretical underpinnings that can lead to a new way forward for the 'movement' of dynamic assessment

Philosophy of Technology and Engineering Sciences
Philosophy of Technology and Engineering Sciences

Author:

Publisher: Elsevier

Published: 2009-11-27

Total Pages: 1473

ISBN-13: 0080930743

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The Handbook Philosophy of Technology and Engineering Sciences addresses numerous issues in the emerging field of the philosophy of those sciences that are involved in the technological process of designing, developing and making of new technical artifacts and systems. These issues include the nature of design, of technological knowledge, and of technical artifacts, as well as the toolbox of engineers. Most of these have thus far not been analyzed in general philosophy of science, which has traditionally but inadequately regarded technology as mere applied science and focused on physics, biology, mathematics and the social sciences. - First comprehensive philosophical handbook on technology and the engineering sciences - Unparalleled in scope including explorative articles - In depth discussion of technical artifacts and their ontology - Provides extensive analysis of the nature of engineering design - Focuses in detail on the role of models in technology

An Aristotelian Realist Philosophy of Mathematics
An Aristotelian Realist Philosophy of Mathematics

Author: J. Franklin

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2014-04-09

Total Pages: 316

ISBN-13: 1137400730

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Mathematics is as much a science of the real world as biology is. It is the science of the world's quantitative aspects (such as ratio) and structural or patterned aspects (such as symmetry). The book develops a complete philosophy of mathematics that contrasts with the usual Platonist and nominalist options.