Values and Measurement

At first sight, measurement might appear to be a natural candidate for a scientific practice that is value-free. This chapter reviews prominent arguments supporting the opposite view, i.e., that values play significant roles in measurement practices. Some of the arguments reviewed concern background assumptions underlying the pursuit of measurement and shaping its character. Other arguments focus on the various socially significant consequences of measurement practices (or aspects thereof), while still others focus on the content of the concepts being measured and how scientists specify such contents. In discussing these arguments, the chapter aims to demonstrate the importance of greater engagement between the values-in-science literature and the historical-philosophical literature on measurement.