精东传媒

Abstract. 鈥� Practices of concept-revision among scientists suggest that concepts can be improved. In 2006, the International Astronomical Union revised the concept PLANET so that it excluded Pluto, and insisting that the result was an improvement. But what could it mean for one concept or conceptual scheme to be better than another? Here we draw…

Abstract. 鈥� According to Mary Midgley (1919鈥�2018), philosophy is like plumbing: “Each system supplies vital needs for those who live above it. Each is hard to repair when it does go wrong, because neither of them was ever consciously planned as a whole鈥�. In her view, philosophy responds to basic needs that are fundamental to…

Abstract. 鈥斅燞istorically, some feminists and Marxists aimed to introduce theoretically useful concepts to accurately describe, explain, and predict existing oppression and inequality. In fact, Haslanger (2000, 2006) had argued that we should analyse social kind concepts for discriminated groups (e.g., for race or gender) so as to lay down the conditions of oppression of the…

*** SESSION RESTRICTED TO ARCH脡 MEMBERS *** Abstract. 鈥斅燭his paper advertises the importance of distinguishing three different foundational projects concerning the epistemic, which we call normative epistemic inquiry, metaepistemic inquiry, and the conceptual ethics of epistemology. We argue that these projects can be distinguished by their contrasting constitutive success conditions. We argue further that because…

Abstract. 鈥斅燭he DSM (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders) is a classification of mental disorders. It is published by the American Psychiatric Association and revised by committees of psychiatrists ever fifteen years or so. This talk considers the DSM as a 鈥榗onceptual building site鈥�. For successful conceptual engineering to be possible we would need…

Abstract. 鈥斅燩recisifications of certain informal concepts could be thought of as instances of conceptual engineering: the concept of a Turing machine (human effective computability), the notion of a Kripke structure (possibility), the Kolmogorov axioms (probability), Tarski’s definition of truth in formal languages, to name just a few. Should we聽regard聽the technical notions these formalisms define as…

Abstract. 鈥� Let ‘epistemic concepts’ refer to those concepts which express the standards employed in epistemic assessment.聽聽 Such concepts offer an interesting test case for conceptual engineering.聽 On the one hand, they seem like they are tailor-made to be constructed聽de novo, answering to whichever of the varying interests we might have in epistemic evaluation.聽 On…

Abstract. 鈥� This talk addresses methodological and political challenges of conceptual engineering in cross-cultural perspective. Based on four case studies of interdisciplinary (empirical and philosophical) research projects in Latin America and West Africa, the talk demonstrates the heterogeneity of epistemological and ontological perspectives of stakeholders and the often hidden politics of their inclusion/exclusion in the…

Abstract. 鈥� Talk of function often plays a central role in work on conceptual engineering. An appeal to functions can provide much needed standards for evaluating and constructing concepts, according to how well they fulfill their functions, and whether those functions are desirable. However, there has also been a great deal of skepticism about the…

Abstract. 鈥斅燙onceptual engineering is often presented as radically opposed and as superseding conceptual analysis. Prima facie, however, improving conceptual schemes in a controlled and fruitful way presupposes an understanding of the conceptual status quo. Consequently the condemnation of conceptual analysis by conceptual engineers constitutes a paradox that needs to be taken far more seriously than…

Abstract. 鈥斅燙onceptual engineering is a groundbreaking programme in philosophy that focuses on how to best assess and improve our concepts. Yet, it still lacks an operational framework in order for its case studies to be run effectively. And without such implementation strategy, it will never live up to its proclaimed ambitions: Changing people鈥檚 minds and…