Conceptual economics Contra conceptual engineering
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 21335372 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Paul-Mikhail Catapang Podosky (0000-0001-5636-416X, Macquarie University, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Pages | 1-19 |
| Publication date | 2026-02-16 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Inquiry (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0020-174X • E-ISSN: 1502-3923 |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/0020174x.2026.2617389 |
| OpenAlex | W7129034634 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 51 |
We are invited to picture conceptual improvement as a kind of engineering. Extract the concept, repair what is defective, and return it to use. But the picture requires a background assumption that is rarely examined: that concepts can step outside the practices that give them life. I deny that assumption. Concepts are social phenomena sustained through ongoing labour: created, reproduced, contested, and policed within what I call conceptual economies. Once recognised, the engineering image loses its grip. There is no standpoint external to the economy from which design can occur, and the much-discussed implementation challenge is a misdescription of how conceptual change unfolds. Conceptual improvement is better understood as a mode of participation within a labour system. This offers a more realistic account of what philosophers are doing when revising our concepts
Conceptual design · Conceptual framework · Conceptual model · Engineering economics · Economic Theory and Institutions · Embodied and Extended Cognition · Philosophy and Theoretical Science
Conceptual Engineering and Conceptual Ethics
Fixing Language
Conceptual Engineering, Metasemantic Externalism and Speaker-Meaning
Amelioration and Inclusion
On Epistemic Appropriation
The Minority Body
Linguistic Interventions and the Ethics of Conceptual Disruption
Conceptual Engineering and the Politics of Implementation
Which Concept of Concept for Conceptual Engineering
On the relation between conceptual engineering and conceptual ethics
There is no dilemma for conceptual engineering. Reply to Max Deutsch
Speaker’s reference, stipulation, and a dilemma for conceptual engineers
Still the same dilemma for conceptual engineers
Heavy‐duty conceptual engineering
Implementing conceptual engineering
Conceptual engineering is extremely unlikely to work. So what
Post-truth conceptual engineering
Rational conceptual conflict and the implementation problem
Engineering concepts by engineering social norms
What is conceptual engineering and what should it be
Engineering is not a luxury
Conceptual engineering and the implementation problem
Essentializing Language and the Prospects for Ameliorative Projects
Conceptual Engineering and Conceptual Ethics
Conceptualizing Epistemic Oppression
A Cautionary Tale
The Epistemology of Resistance
Tracking Epistemic Violence, Tracking Practices of Silencing
Relational Knowing and Epistemic Injustice
Two Kinds of Unknowing
Can conceptual engineering actually promote social justice
What attitude should we take to conceptual engineering
The externalist challenge to conceptual engineering
What Are We Talking About? The Semantics and Politics of Social Kinds
Ontology and Social Construction
Resisting Reality
Conceptual engineering
| Highly cited | No |
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