CEIC · Conceptual Engineering, Inquiry and Communication
Horizon 2020 — Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions
- Duration
- 2022-09-01 → 2024-12-31
- EU contribution
- €191,852
- Participants
- 1
- Scheme
- MSCA-IF
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Results in brief
Conceptual Engineering, Inquiry and Communication
The EU-funded CEIC project aims to evaluate how the ‘change of subject’ issue affects conceptual engineering projects – that is, projects concerned with the assessment and revision of conceptual representations. The project is important for society because, for every conceptual change (whether spontaneous or ‘by design’), there exists a possibility of subject-change, which could negatively impact communication and inquiry, and that had better be understood, predicted, and if possible fixed. The projects’ scientific objectives are as follows. (1) In a first phase of the project, current approaches to the change of subject problem are assessed. (2) In a second phase, a common flaw in these approaches is diagnosed, which also partly depends on an unclear formulation of the subject-change problem itself. (3) In a third phase, an alternative strategy is defended to deal with the problem, which emphasizes the role of “metalinguistic awareness” and the context-sensitivity of subject matter. Conclusions of the action: Regarding point (1), analysis of the three strategies that purport to address the change of subject phenomenon led to acknowledging some differences and commonalities. Regarding (2), the diagnosing hypothesis advanced in the initial objectives was confirmed. Regarding (3), results from the previous two stages allowed to articulate a positive, novel proposal on how to deal with the subject-change issue.
Data: CORDIS, © European Union
Project objective
In our daily lives, we often take our concepts for granted. Yet, in particular circumstances, it may turn out that the concepts we use are defective in relevant respects, and need to be revised (think, for instance, of the concept of marriage in several legal systems). Analytic philosophers have coined the term “conceptual engineering” to describe processes of evaluation, revision or design of conceptual representations. Often, the conceptual engineer modifies a word's intension (its “dictionary meaning”), thus changing the word's extension (its reference). Yet, as suggested by British philosopher P. F. Strawson in a seminal paper, such revision may lead to a “change of subject”: while modifying the term's semantics, one ends up talking about something else. In the current discussion, changes of subject are deemed detrimental to the unity of one’s inquiry, and are associated with the risk of communication breakdowns. The aim of CEIC is to assess the impact of the change of subject objection on conceptual engineering projects. CEIC consists of two workpackages (WPs). WP1 will examine current strategies to respond to the change of subject objection (based on the notions of “topic”, of “concept function”, and on semantic externalism respectively), and will highlight their limitations. WP2 will diagnose said limitations by pointing out a flaw in the objection itself: the notion of subject is highly indeterminate. The objection can, therefore, be downplayed. The potential problems associated with it (namely, inquiry discontinuity and miscommunication) can, however, be addressed by adopting new strategies that highlight the importance of systematic meta-linguistic reflection throughout our inquiries. Overall, CEIC will: (1) put the change of subject objection in the right perspective, and (2) explore novel methodological strategies for carrying out conceptual engineering projects both in philosophy and in other disciplines.
Original text from CORDIS.
Participants
- UPPSALA UNIVERSITET · UppsalaCoordinatorSweden
Links
Data: CORDIS, © European Union