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Conceptual engineering is extremely unlikely to work. So what?

  • James Andow

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

21 Citations (Scopus)
68 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

Conceptual engineering aims to improve our concepts. That's plausibly an extremely difficult thing to do. Should this make us sceptical of the idea that philosophers should try to do it? You might think so. Cappelen, in his Fixing Language: an Essay on Conceptual Engineering, thinks it shouldn't stop us–but his stated reasons are not really encouraging. In this paper, I say what I think Cappelen should have said, on the basis of a very rough cost-benefit analysis.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)212-226
Number of pages15
JournalInquiry
Volume64
Issue number1-2
Early online date2 Dec 2020
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2021

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

  1. SDG 3 - Good Health and Well-being
    SDG 3 Good Health and Well-being

Keywords

  • Conceptual engineering
  • conceptual control
  • metaphilosophy
  • philosophical methodology

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