Recent work in the theory of conceptual engineering

Analysis 83 (3):589-603 (2023)
  Copy   BIBTEX

Abstract

A philosopher argues that state-sponsored cyberattacks against central military or civilian targets are always acts of war. What is this philosopher doing? According to conceptual analysts, the philosopher is making a claim about our concept of war. According to philosophical realists, the philosopher is making a claim about war per se. In a quickly developing literature, a third option is being explored: the philosopher is engineering the concept of war. On this view, the philosopher is making a proposal about which concept we should have – even if it deviates from the extant concept, and even if it does not capture ‘what war really is’. The activity or method of proposing such revisionary definitions, as well as the metaphilosophical reflection on it, has become known as conceptual engineering.

Other Versions

No versions found

Analytics

Added to PP
2023-08-17

Downloads
418 (#69,846)

6 months
170 (#22,171)

Historical graph of downloads
How can I increase my downloads?

Author Profiles

Steffen Koch
Bielefeld University
Guido Löhr
Vrije University
Mark Pinder
Open University (UK)

References found in this work

Logical foundations of probability.Rudolf Carnap - 1950 - Chicago]: Chicago University of Chicago Press.
The meaning of 'meaning'.Hilary Putnam - 1975 - Minnesota Studies in the Philosophy of Science 7:131-193.
The Philosophy of Philosophy.Timothy Williamson - 2007 - Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell.

View all 48 references / Add more references