Limits of the Numerical: The Abuses and Uses of Quantification

This collection explores the uses of quantification in climate science, higher education, and health, challenging undue reverence or skepticism toward it and offering new ideas for harmonizing quantitative and qualitative forms of knowledge. It emphasizes the importance of using numbers to hold the powerful to account but only when they are democratically accountable.

Format: Hardback
Length: 304 pages
Publication date: 01 July 2022
Publisher: The University of Chicago Press

This collection delves into the multifaceted applications of quantification in climate science, higher education, and health. Numbers wield immense power, influencing public policy and shaping various aspects of society, from college rankings to vaccine efficacy rates. However, they also face the challenge of being subject to obfuscation, manipulation, or outright denial. In response, this timely compilation, brought together by a diverse group of humanists and social scientists, seeks to challenge undue reverence or skepticism towards quantification while offering fresh perspectives on how to harmonize quantitative with qualitative forms of knowledge.

Limits of the Numerical, the first section of the collection, explores quantification in the context of climate change, university teaching and research, and health, medicine, and well-being more broadly. It showcases the ways in which qualitative and quantitative approaches can complement and enhance each other, overcoming the limitations imposed by the numerical. The authors demonstrate that by partnering with historical, institutional, and philosophical analysis, the boundaries of the numerical can be surpassed, enabling us to use numbers to hold powerful entities accountable.

However, the authors emphasize that the democratic accountability of numbers is crucial for their effective use. They argue that numbers should not be wielded as tools of oppression or control but rather as means to promote equity, justice, and well-being. The collection concludes by emphasizing the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration and the need to develop a nuanced understanding of the complexities and limitations of quantification. By doing so, we can harness the power of numbers to drive positive change and improve the lives of individuals and communities.

Weight: 634g
Dimension: 158 x 237 x 27 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780226817132