CEIC Workshop 

Conceptual engineering is often concerned with the revision or replacement of conceptual representations, with the general goal of improving the way we think and talk. Yet, conceptual revisions or replacements could cause discontinuities in inquiry and communication between agents who still deploy the older concept and agents who apply the new one. 

Critics of the method of conceptual engineering deem these discontinuities damaging and even counterproductive. For them, conceptual engineering can “change the subject”, and changing the subject is considered an undesirable consequence. Is this really the case? How important is continuity in an inquiry, or in the course of a conversation? How can speakers cope with potential disruptions of meaning, subject-matter, or question under discussion? Is it okay for conceptual engineers to cause – and even exploit – such disruptions? Are there any viable alternatives? 

The aim of this workshop is to gather international scholars who have an interest in these and other neighbouring questions, to discuss as-of-yet underexplored aspects of subject-change, continuity and discontinuity in inquiry and communication in conceptual engineering.

Organized by Delia Belleri (Uppsala University)

Speakers line-up

Yvonne Huetter-Almerigi (University of Bologna)

Sigurd Jorem (University of Oslo)

Steffen Koch (University of Bielefeld)

Alexander Kocurek (Cornell University)

Peter Pagin (Stockholm University)

Jessica Pepp (Uppsala University/University of Oslo)

David  Plunkett (Dartmouth College)

Rachel Etta Rudolph (Auburn University)

Dates and venue

The workshop will take place at Uppsala University, on June 15-16 2023. 

The venue is room 22-1009 (located in the Engelska Parken Campus, inside the building that hosts the Humanities Theater).

Program and abstracts

Read the virtual book of abstracts!

Thursday, June 15

9:00-9:15 

Welcome

9:15-10:45

David Plunkett 

"Topic Continuity and Philosophical Inquiry" (joint work w/ T. McPherson)

Coffee

11:00-12:30

Sigurd Jorem

"Three flavors of discontinuity in conceptual revision"

Lunch

14:15-15:45

Yvonne Huetter-Almerigi

"(Not) going on in the same way – indeterminacy, no-fault-disagreements, and the coordination of action "

Coffee

16:00-17:30

Rachel Etta Rudolph

"Bias, Machine Learning, and Conceptual Engineering" (joint work w/ E. Shech and M. Tamir)

Workshop dinner

Friday, June 16

9:15-10:45

Peter Pagin

"Communication and conceptual change"

Coffee

11:00-12:30 

Jessica Pepp

"Deliberate Meaning Change and Technological Communicative Assistance" (joint work w/ R. Sterken)

Lunch

14:15-15:45

Steffen Koch

"The nameability argument for linguistic engineering"

Coffee

16:00-17:30

Arc Kocurek

“Not About Words”: The Fallacy of Semantic Descent