Taking control: conceptual engineering without (much) metasemantics

Abstract

This paper critiques the semantics-driven approach to conceptual engineering presented in Herman Cappelen’s recent book, Fixing Language. I focus on three core aspects of Cappelen’s ‘Austerity Framework’: first, the claim that conceptual engineering targets the meanings of linguistic expressions (rather than concepts); second, the claim that the linguistic phenomenon of ‘samesaying’ fixes the limits of permissible revision; and third, the claim that the process of conceptual engineering is largely both outside of our control and epistemically inaccessible to us. I contrast the Austerity Framework with my own proposal, which I call the ‘Practical Role Account’. The Practical Role Account disavows a substantial role for metasemantics in a theory of conceptual engineering; I argue that it consequently both offers a more inclusive view on the limits of revision, and places the process of conceptual engineering back within our control.

Cite this work

No public copy is stored for this record, so only the metadata is cited.

Stored only when both papers are in the corpus — 24 citations exist upstream.

Papers that cite the same references — the relational fallback while embeddings are still backfilling.