Adolphe Quetelet, Social Physics and the Average Men of Science, 1796-1874

Adolphe Quetelet was an influential astronomer and statistician whose controversial work inspired heated debate in European and American intellectual circles. In creating a science designed to explain the "average man," he helped contribute to the idea of normal, most enduringly in his creation of the Quetelet Index, which came to be known as the Body Mass Index. Kevin Donnelly presents the first scholarly biography of Quetelet, exploring his contribution to quantitative reasoning, his place in nineteenth-century intellectual history, and his profound influence on the modern idea of average.

Author: Kevin Donnelly
Publisher: University of Pittsburgh Press
Published: 11/01/2019
Pages: 232
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.75lbs
Size: 8.90h x 6.00w x 0.60d
ISBN: 9780822966081

About the Author
Kevin Donnelly is assistant professor of history at Alvernia University in Reading, PA.