"I Second that Emotion": Thinking About Quantification and Affect

• In Event: Markets with Meaning: Emotion, Morality, and Justification in Economic Life

Abstract

Quantitative information has become increasingly pervasive and consequential in contemporary society. Traditionally it connotes unsentimental objectivity and neutrality. However, the emotional side of numbers remains unexplored. In this paper I offer a framework to understand the connections between quantitative information and emotions, and to consider their social implications.

Author

• Bruce G. Carruthers, Northwestern University