Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: ‘Conceptual engineering’ is the new buzzword in the world of philosophical methods. Yet, on some accounts, it is hard to see what is distinctively new about it—if anything. This article tackles this hallmark problem for conceptual engineering. It starts by spelling out the requirements that result from using the engineering label through an analysis of its associated connotations. It next maps the logical space of available options to make sense of the engineering label in the context of conceptual engineering and evaluates each in turn for how it squares with these requirements. Having selected the most promising option with regard to said requirements, the article then reconstructs it by combining compatible extant accounts. Finally, it sketches on this basis a model of the engineering process for conceptual engineering as a staged and parametrized method for designing functionally improved representational devices. In this model, conceptual engineering becomes a radically novel philosophical method.
Source: Metaphilosophy
DOI: 10.1111/meta.70008
Author: Manuel Gustavo Isaac
Institution: Geneva Science and Diplomacy Anticipator
Language: English
Subfield: Philosophy
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $2,760
OpenAlex ID: W4412554226