Cambridge University Press eBooks· 2013· Book chapter
A Treatise on Man and the Development of his Faculties
- 580citations
- 2013year
Short summary
Lambert Adolphe Jacques Quetelet pioneered social statistics by applying mathematical methods to human physical and psychological traits, identifying the 'average man' based on normally distributed mean values.
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Key points
- Pioneered social statistics by applying mathematical analysis to human physical and psychological dimensions.
- Identified the 'average man' based on mean values of measured variables that follow a normal distribution.
- Proposed comparing individuals to the average to explore processes determining normal and abnormal qualities.
- Developed the body mass index formula (weight divided by height squared).
AI-generated from the title and abstract; the full text is not read.
Abstract
The Belgian polymath Lambert Adolphe Jacques Quetelet (1796–1874) pioneered social statistics. Applying his training in mathematics to the physical and psychological dimensions of individuals, he identified the 'average man' as characterised by the mean values of measured variables that follow a normal distribution. He believed that comparing the features of individuals against this average would allow scientists to better explore the processes that determine normal and abnormal qualities. Quetelet's methods influenced many, among them Florence Nightingale, and his simple measure for classifying a person's weight, dividing it by the square of their height, is widely known as the body mass index. First published in French in 1835 and reissued here in the 1842 English translation, this is his most influential work and includes a new preface that succinctly states his aim to be 'the analysis of normal man through his actions and of intellectual man through his productions'.
The authors' abstract, as published at the source. Cambridge University Press eBooks, 2013 · DOI ↗
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Field: History and Philosophy of Science
History and Philosophy of ScienceArts and Humanities