Jennifer Whyte PhD

March 14th until August 27th, 2025

Affiliation: 

Research for a study about:

My project is called 'Waismann Says only Fools Rush In', and it aims to build an account of a mechanism for conceptual engineering out of Friedrich Waismann's notions of 'Open Texture' and 'Language Strata'. I argue that, when these two notions are combined and interpreted in their correct context (which is primarily a scientific context) they provide a powerful method for conceptual engineering, but one with some fascinating limitations. 

In my other recent work I have attempted to draw a line of influence between 19th Century British debates about the nature of number, early Pragmatism, and the Vienna Circle. The main locus for this work has been the writings of William Kingdon Clifford.

Lecture

Towards a Waismannian Theory of Conceptual Engineering

Philosophy of Science Colloquium 

Date: May 15, 2025

Time: 4.45 pm -6.15 pm CET

Venue for all talks: Lecture Hall 3A, NIG Universitätsstraße 7, 3rd floor, NIG/ Neues Institutsgebäude, Universitätsstraße 7, 1010 Vienna

Abstract:

Much philosophical attention has recently been paid to Conceptual Engineering - or, the intentional modification of concepts by philosophers in order to achieve epistemic, ethical, or political ends. The most controversial aspect of conceptual engineering are its aims, but there is also much debate over the mechanism by which the process could even be carried out. In this project, I will propose a mechanism derived from the work of Friedrich Waismann by which intentional conceptual amelioration can - and does - occur. I will then argue that this account of conceptual engineering solves a number of standing problems in the literature, but in doing so, places some key checks on the ambition of conceptual engineering as a project.