Conceptual Engineering: Idea and Problem Field

Abstract

The article analyzes the ideas and methods of conceptual engineering, its goals, problem field and opportunities. Conceptual engineering as a philosophical di­rection arises at the intersection of descriptive and normative approaches, repre­senting a revisionist strategy. Emphasizing the correlation between science and social life, the developers of the idea draw attention to the need for a conscious attitude to conceptual representation and terminological choice. Particular atten­tion is paid to the analysis of the name of the direction: the engineering perspec­tive is associated with the idea of ​​managing the scientific process. Theoretical and methodological origins of conceptual engineering are considered: the ideas of J. Dewey on the development of “conscious thinking”, R. Carnap on explica­tion, S. Haslanger on the importance of a critical attitude towards significant so­cial theoretical constructs. It is shown that conceptual engineering as a revi­sionist epistemological project is aimed at changing specific forms of social interaction through the revision of current ideas about the world and about one­self. Given the paramount importance of language in organizing everyday intel­lectual practices, conceptual engineering focuses on concepts and their meaning. In essence, it represents another attempt to eliminate linguistic ambiguity, but no longer with the help of a special symbolic language, but by manipulating mean­ing and sense. The problems of semantic modifications of concepts associated with semantic drift, linguistic intuition and communication, knowledge transfer are analyzed