Thu, 02 Nov
|Online Lecture
LECTURE | Rachel Etta Rudolph (Auburn)
Rachel Etta Rudolph is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Philosophy at Auburn University. She works primarily in philosophy of language, including its intersection with value theory and social philosophy.
TIME & LOCATION
02 Nov 2023, 16:00 – 17:30 CET
Online Lecture
ABOUT THE EVENT
Title:
"Engineering conceptual prototypes"
Abstract:
Theorists interested in conceptual engineering often aim to remain fairly neutral on the nature of concepts. The focus, however, tends to be on concepts as something like definitions or intensions. A classic example is changing the concept of RAPE so as to include marital rape. This neglects a prominent view of concepts from cognitive science, namely prototype theory. Conceptual engineers should care about prototypes too. Even if our definition of RAPE includes marital rape, it could still be a problem, from a conceptual engineering perspective, if the prototypical instance of rape is, say, a dark alley attack by a stranger. I present a picture of conceptual engineering as targeting prototypes and discuss some advantages of this approach.