Basic Concepts of Measurement

by Brian Ellis

Overview

The nature of measurement is a topic of central concern in the philosophy of science and, indeed, measurement is the essential link between science and mathematics. Professor Ellis's book, originally published in 1966, is the first general exposition of the philosophical and logical principles involved in measurement since N. R. Campbell's Principles of Measurement and Calculation (1928), and P. W. Bridgman's Dimensional Analysis (1931). Professor Ellis writes from an empiricist standpoint. His object is to distinguish and define the basic concepts in measurement, for example: scale, quantity, unit. dimension, number and probability. He discusses the problem of classifying scales of measurement and the special logical problems associated with each kind of scale. A translation of mach's Critique on the Concept of Temperature, which gives his views on the nature of measurement more fully than in any of his other works, is given as an appendix.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780521095563
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	10/01/1968
Edition description:	Revised ed.
Pages:	232
Product dimensions:	4.90(w) x 7.90(h) x 0.70(d)

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements; Introduction; 1. The application of arithmetic; 2. The concept of a quantity; 3. The concept of a scale; 4. The classification of scales of measurement; 5. Fundamental measurement; 6. Associative measurement: I (as illustrated by the case of temperature measurement); 7. Associative measurement: II (as illustrated by the case of time measurement in extreme ranges); 8. Derived measurement; 9. Units and dimensions; 10. The physical concept of number; 11. The concept of probability; Appendices; Bibliography; Notes.