Periodic Reporting for period 1 - CEIC (Conceptual Engineering, Inquiry and Communication)
Berichtszeitraum: 2022-09-01 bis 2024-08-31
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.
The project involved work on several fronts.
(I) On the front of publications, several articles were drafted, accepted, or published on the research topic addressed by the project proposal. (1) The first, main draft entitled “You’re changing the subject: An Unfair Objection to Conceptual Engineering” was submitted to The Philosophical Quarterly on 29 January 2023, and received a “Revise and Resubmit” verdict on 7 September 2023. The manuscript’s revision is currently underway. (2) The second draft entitled “Conceptual Engineering, Implementation, and Metalinguistic Awareness” has been accepted for publication on a Synthese Library collection entitled New Perspectives on Conceptual Engineering: Foundational Issues. Financial support from the MSC action is acknowledged in this publication. (3) The third draft is entitled: “Conceptual Engineering Between Representational Skepticism and Complacency: Is There a Third Way?”. It was accepted by the journal Topoi on 19 April 2023, and it was published on 17 May 2023. Financial support from the MSCA action is acknowledged in this publication. (4) The fourth draft is entitled “Fixing the topic in conceptual engineering: from externalism to liberalism”, and it is currently still in progress.
(II) With regard to dissemination of my individual research, work in progress from the CEIC MSCA project was presented in several venues: at Uppsala University (10 November 2022); at the Online Work-in-Progress Seminar of the “Conceptual Engineering Network” (14 November 2022); at the University of Padua (15 December 2022). I was a keynote speaker on topics in conceptual engineering at the conference PHILANG 2023 at the University of Lodz (12 May 2023) and at the workshop “Conceptual engineering and metaontology” at the University of Santiago de Compostela (29 June 2023).
(III) Still in regard to dissemination, several events were organized during the course of the fellowship. First, two series of online lectures were co-organized with the Conceptual Engineering Network (Fall semester and Spring semester 2022/2023); second, a workshop directly addressing the CEIC project’s core themes, entitled “Conceptual Engineering, ‘Changing the subject’ and Continuity of Communication and Inquiry” was organized by myself at Uppsala University on 15-16 June 2023; third, an online graduate workshop was co-organized with the University of Tartu on 5-6 July 2023.
(IV) With respect to teaching and training activities, I held two lectures during Professor Matti Eklund’s master’s course on Conceptual Engineering at Uppsala University on 25-25 January 2023. Plus, on 27 July 2023, I gave a one-day seminar with the title “Distributing concepts” at the interdisciplinary Summer school organized by the ENLIGHT consortium entitled “Blurred Meanings in Law, Regulations, Guidelines” at the University of Tartu.
(V) As to outreach activities, I have held two lectures open to the general public. The first lecture was held at Uppsala’s Filosofiska Kårföreningen (Student Philosophy Society) on 16 March 2023. The second lecture took place during a philosophy festival in Vienna, “Nächte der Philosophie”, on 31 May 2023.
(I) On the front of publications, several articles were drafted, accepted, or published on the research topic addressed by the project proposal. (1) The first, main draft entitled “You’re changing the subject: An Unfair Objection to Conceptual Engineering” was submitted to The Philosophical Quarterly on 29 January 2023, and received a “Revise and Resubmit” verdict on 7 September 2023. The manuscript’s revision is currently underway. (2) The second draft entitled “Conceptual Engineering, Implementation, and Metalinguistic Awareness” has been accepted for publication on a Synthese Library collection entitled New Perspectives on Conceptual Engineering: Foundational Issues. Financial support from the MSC action is acknowledged in this publication. (3) The third draft is entitled: “Conceptual Engineering Between Representational Skepticism and Complacency: Is There a Third Way?”. It was accepted by the journal Topoi on 19 April 2023, and it was published on 17 May 2023. Financial support from the MSCA action is acknowledged in this publication. (4) The fourth draft is entitled “Fixing the topic in conceptual engineering: from externalism to liberalism”, and it is currently still in progress.
(II) With regard to dissemination of my individual research, work in progress from the CEIC MSCA project was presented in several venues: at Uppsala University (10 November 2022); at the Online Work-in-Progress Seminar of the “Conceptual Engineering Network” (14 November 2022); at the University of Padua (15 December 2022). I was a keynote speaker on topics in conceptual engineering at the conference PHILANG 2023 at the University of Lodz (12 May 2023) and at the workshop “Conceptual engineering and metaontology” at the University of Santiago de Compostela (29 June 2023).
(III) Still in regard to dissemination, several events were organized during the course of the fellowship. First, two series of online lectures were co-organized with the Conceptual Engineering Network (Fall semester and Spring semester 2022/2023); second, a workshop directly addressing the CEIC project’s core themes, entitled “Conceptual Engineering, ‘Changing the subject’ and Continuity of Communication and Inquiry” was organized by myself at Uppsala University on 15-16 June 2023; third, an online graduate workshop was co-organized with the University of Tartu on 5-6 July 2023.
(IV) With respect to teaching and training activities, I held two lectures during Professor Matti Eklund’s master’s course on Conceptual Engineering at Uppsala University on 25-25 January 2023. Plus, on 27 July 2023, I gave a one-day seminar with the title “Distributing concepts” at the interdisciplinary Summer school organized by the ENLIGHT consortium entitled “Blurred Meanings in Law, Regulations, Guidelines” at the University of Tartu.
(V) As to outreach activities, I have held two lectures open to the general public. The first lecture was held at Uppsala’s Filosofiska Kårföreningen (Student Philosophy Society) on 16 March 2023. The second lecture took place during a philosophy festival in Vienna, “Nächte der Philosophie”, on 31 May 2023.
The results of CEIC go beyond the state of the art in the following respects: (1) they provide an original evaluation of current available strategies for responding to the ‘subject-change’ objection. (2) they break new ground in evaluating the ‘subject-change’ objection, especially with regard to its dialectical role. (3) they provide unprecedented considerations regarding how to address subject-change in conceptual engineering, by invoking “metalinguistic awareness” and by supplying corroborating evidence in favour of a contextualist account of subject-matter. The expected results coincide with actual results after termination of the project, in connection with the aforementioned aspects. Overall, addressing subject-change in conceptual engineering, as well as in processes of conceptual change in general, allows fostering understanding, trust, and effective transfers of information between subjects and groups, which can positively shape the fabric of society and create a more inclusive and harmonious world.