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Conceptual Engineering: A Footnote to Plato
in History of Philosophy & Logical AnalysisSearch for other papers by Scott Berman in
Current site
Google Scholar
Abstract
If concepts are to what the predicates in our language refer, then Plato would say that concepts are nonspatiotemporal entities, called âForms,â and as such cannot be created, changed, or destroyed. Thus, if conceptual engineering requires that concepts can be created or changed, then Plato could not accurately be called a conceptual engineer. On the other hand, Plato did think that we can create or change the sights and sounds we use as tools by means of our shared thinking which refer to those unchanging concepts. Those sights and sounds are the symbols, that is, the written and spoken language, that we use in order to communicate with one another about the things that exist. Plato, then, thought of a shared language as an educated guess about the way the world in fact is. We agree to use those symbols because we have good reasons to believe that the closer our shared language is to the way the world in fact is, the more beneficial using that language will be for us in accomplishing our ultimate goal of having the best life we can possibly have. Therefore, if concepts are not to what the predicates in our language refer, but instead, are the educated guesses as to what those eternally unchanging Forms are, then Plato would be a conceptual engineer par excellence as he did think that we can and do create and revise our educated guesses as we learn more about the way the world in fact is.
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Plato, Gorgias. Zeyl, D. (tr.), 1987. Indianapolis: Hackett.
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Berman, S. 1991a. Socrates and Callicles on Pleasure. Phronesis 36, 117â140.
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Berman, S. 1991b. How Polus Was Refuted: Reconsidering Platoâs Gorgias 474câ475c. Ancient Philosophy 11, 265â284.
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Berman, S. 1994. Platoâs Refutation of Constructivism in the Cratylus. Journal of Neoplatonic Studies 2, 37â70.
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Berman, S. 2020. Platonism and the Objects of Science. London: Bloomsbury Publishing.
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| Insgesamt | Letzte 365 Tage | In den letzten 30 Tagen | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aufrufe von Kurzbeschreibungen | 242 | 242 | 12 |
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| PDF-Downloads | 26 | 26 | 0 |
Conceptual Engineering: A Footnote to Plato
in History of Philosophy & Logical AnalysisSearch for other papers by Scott Berman in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Abstract
If concepts are to what the predicates in our language refer, then Plato would say that concepts are nonspatiotemporal entities, called âForms,â and as such cannot be created, changed, or destroyed. Thus, if conceptual engineering requires that concepts can be created or changed, then Plato could not accurately be called a conceptual engineer. On the other hand, Plato did think that we can create or change the sights and sounds we use as tools by means of our shared thinking which refer to those unchanging concepts. Those sights and sounds are the symbols, that is, the written and spoken language, that we use in order to communicate with one another about the things that exist. Plato, then, thought of a shared language as an educated guess about the way the world in fact is. We agree to use those symbols because we have good reasons to believe that the closer our shared language is to the way the world in fact is, the more beneficial using that language will be for us in accomplishing our ultimate goal of having the best life we can possibly have. Therefore, if concepts are not to what the predicates in our language refer, but instead, are the educated guesses as to what those eternally unchanging Forms are, then Plato would be a conceptual engineer par excellence as he did think that we can and do create and revise our educated guesses as we learn more about the way the world in fact is.
| Insgesamt | Letzte 365 Tage | In den letzten 30 Tagen | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aufrufe von Kurzbeschreibungen | 242 | 242 | 12 |
| Gesamttextansichten | 8 | 8 | 0 |
| PDF-Downloads | 26 | 26 | 0 |
