Possible Limits of Conceptual Engineering: Magnetism, Fixed Points and Inescapability [Special Issue]
Issue: Issue 16 • Author/s: Matti Eklund
Topics: Epistemology, Metaphysics, Ontology, Theoretical philosophy
In contemporary philosophy there is much focus on conceptual engineering: the enterprise of revising and replacing concepts. In this talk, I focus on a theoretical issue that has not yet received much attention. What principled limits are there to this sort of enterprise? Are there concepts that for principled reasons cannot or should not be revised or replaced? Examples discussed include logical concepts and normative concepts.