Date：October 30, 2024／9:30‐11:00 (JST)

Location：Zoom

Language：Japanese

Target:：Open to members only

General Summary：This workshop will explore key issues in measurement within the social sciences, drawing on chapters from two forthcoming books that are part of a larger research project. The focus will be on the challenges of descriptive measurement and the ethical dilemmas involved in quantifying values and social phenomena.

Speaker1：Kazushi MATSUMURA [Seijo University]
Title：Measuring Nature, Measuring Society: From 'Mass Observation' to 'Big Data'
Summary：The current surge of interest in big data and data science reflects a growing trend toward the quantification of society. However, this is not the first instance of such a movement. The 19th century has also been described as an "era of enthusiasm" for statistics. This presentation examines the quantification trends in the 19th and 21st centuries, focusing on the history of measurement. It begins with a review of historiographical accounts of measurement, then examines how probability theory of errors, initially developed in astronomy, influenced the practice of observation and experimentation in nineteenth-century psychology, particularly through increased attention to the number of observations. It also considers how the theory of errors led to the concept of 'mass observation' in nineteenth-century statistics and explores how statistical thinking prepared the development of sociological explanation. Finally, by contrasting these historical developments with the expansion of big data in the 21st century, the act of 'measuring society' is re-examined.

Speaker2：Ken Oshitani [Waseda University]
Title：Should All Values be Measured? A Critical Examination of Consequentializing
Summary：Value measurement plays a crucial role in both everyday decisions and social policies. It seems intuitive to calculate the total value generated by different actions and select the one that maximizes it. However, not all values fit neatly into this framework. There is a long-standing debate in ethics about whether all forms of practical reasoning rely on value measurement or whether certain values, like individual duties or rights, resist quantification. This presentation will critically examine the ethical debate between consequentialism and non-consequentialism, particularly focusing on the recent method of 'consequentializing.' I will argue that the consequentialist framework, which reduces all values to measurable outcomes, encounters theoretical and practical limitations by failing to account for values that cannot be quantified in traditional ways.