Two kinds of conceptual engineering
Two kinds of conceptual engineering
The last decade has seen an explosion of meta-philosophical work on conceptual engineering. Beyond simple analysis of concepts, conceptual engineering allows for evaluation and improvement of concepts accord- ing to the purposes for which they will be used. This paper sketches a pluralist account of conceptual engineering and provides a distinction between two different and often conflicting kinds of conceptual engineer- ing: naturalist conceptual engineering (NCE) and moral conceptual en- gineering (MCE), distinguished not by their methods, but by their roles, functions, and purposes. Using the examples of health and animal wel- fare, we demonstrate the application of both MCE and NCE and show how the different contexts in which a concept is used can create con- flicting demands but also how concordance between these demands can strengthen a concept.
ameliorative anal-ysis, animal welfare, conceptual engineering, ethics, explication, health, naturalism
49-70
Veit, Walter
6da3e122-2bb1-4640-b12e-7a560d7c4100
Browning, Heather
8d13aa04-7648-4403-b29c-11f7674f6618
Veit, Walter
6da3e122-2bb1-4640-b12e-7a560d7c4100
Browning, Heather
8d13aa04-7648-4403-b29c-11f7674f6618
Veit, Walter and Browning, Heather
(2026)
Two kinds of conceptual engineering.
Croatian Journal of Philosophy, 26 (76), .
(doi:10.52685/cjp.26.76.4).
Abstract
The last decade has seen an explosion of meta-philosophical work on conceptual engineering. Beyond simple analysis of concepts, conceptual engineering allows for evaluation and improvement of concepts accord- ing to the purposes for which they will be used. This paper sketches a pluralist account of conceptual engineering and provides a distinction between two different and often conflicting kinds of conceptual engineer- ing: naturalist conceptual engineering (NCE) and moral conceptual en- gineering (MCE), distinguished not by their methods, but by their roles, functions, and purposes. Using the examples of health and animal wel- fare, we demonstrate the application of both MCE and NCE and show how the different contexts in which a concept is used can create con- flicting demands but also how concordance between these demands can strengthen a concept.
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CJP76-04-Veit&Browning
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e-pub ahead of print date: 19 March 2026
Keywords:
ameliorative anal-ysis, animal welfare, conceptual engineering, ethics, explication, health, naturalism
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Local EPrints ID: 510857
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/510857
ISSN: 1847-6139
PURE UUID: 1176a6fa-d1a9-432a-b2a3-aaad97349947
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Date deposited: 22 Apr 2026 17:03
Last modified: 23 Apr 2026 02:13
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Author:
Walter Veit
Author:
Heather Browning
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