scholarly journals Engineering what? On concepts in conceptual engineering

Synthese ◽  
2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steffen Koch
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Content ◽  
Central Importance ◽  
Comprehensive Account ◽  
Conceptual Engineering ◽  
Content View

Abstract Conceptual engineers aim to revise rather than describe our concepts. But what are concepts? And how does one engineer them? Answering these questions is of central importance for implementing and theorizing about conceptual engineering. This paper discusses and criticizes two influential views of this issue: semanticism, according to which conceptual engineers aim to change linguistic meanings, and psychologism, according to which conceptual engineers aim to change psychological structures. I argue that neither of these accounts can give us the full story. Instead, I propose and defend the Dual Content View of Conceptual Engineering. On this view, conceptual engineering targets concepts, where concepts are understood as having two (interrelated) kinds of contents: referential content and cognitive content. I show that this view is independently plausible and that it gives us a comprehensive account of conceptual engineering that helps to make progress on some of the most difficult problems surrounding conceptual engineering.

Cognitive content of maternal moods assessed with self-report and recall procedures

2008 ◽  
Author(s):  
Phyllis S. Ohr ◽  
Allen Grove ◽  
Richard Lopez ◽  
Candice Lalima ◽  
Jeninne McNeill ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Self Report ◽  
Cognitive Content

Ekottarika-?gama Discourse Without Parallels

2018 ◽  
Vol 35 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 125-134
Author(s):  
Anālayo Bhikkhu
Keyword(s):  
Main Topic ◽  
Pure Land ◽  
Central Importance ◽  
Oral Transmission

With the present paper I study and translate a discourse in the Ekottarika-?gama preserved in Chinese of which no parallel in other discourse collections is known. This situation relates to the wider issue of what significance to accord to the absence of parallels from the viewpoint of the early Buddhist oral transmission. The main topic of the discourse itself is perception of impermanence, which is of central importance in the early Buddhist scheme of the path for cultivating liberating insight. A description of the results of such practice in this Ekottarika-?gama discourse has a somewhat ambivalent formulation that suggests a possible relation to the notion of rebirth in the Pure Abodes, suddh?v?sa. This notion, attested in a P?li discourse, in turn might have provided a precedent for the aspiration, prominent in later Buddhist traditions, to be reborn in the Pure Land.

Christianity in the Twentieth Century

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian Stanley
Keyword(s):  
Latin America ◽  
Racial Identity ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Central Importance ◽  
Regional Survey ◽  
History Of Christianity ◽  
The World ◽  
History Of ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Different Parts

This book charts the transformation of one of the world's great religions during an age marked by world wars, genocide, nationalism, decolonization, and powerful ideological currents, many of them hostile to Christianity. The book traces how Christianity evolved from a religion defined by the culture and politics of Europe to the expanding polycentric and multicultural faith it is today—one whose growing popular support is strongest in sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America, China, and other parts of Asia. The book sheds critical light on themes of central importance for understanding the global contours of modern Christianity, illustrating each one with contrasting case studies, usually taken from different parts of the world. Unlike other books on world Christianity, this one is not a regional survey or chronological narrative, nor does it focus on theology or ecclesiastical institutions. The book provides a history of Christianity as a popular faith experienced and lived by its adherents, telling a compelling and multifaceted story of Christendom's fortunes in Europe, North America, and across the rest of the globe. It demonstrates how Christianity has had less to fear from the onslaughts of secularism than from the readiness of Christians themselves to accommodate their faith to ideologies that privilege racial identity or radical individualism.

Physician Reentry into Clinical Practice: Regulatory Challenges

2011 ◽  
Vol 97 (1) ◽  
pp. 10-15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gretchen P. Kenagy ◽  
Barbara S. Schneidman ◽  
Barbara Barzansky ◽  
Claudette E. Dalton ◽  
Carl A. Sirio ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Clinical Practice ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Clinical Activity ◽  
Central Importance ◽  
Regulatory Policies ◽  
Physician Competence ◽  
Leave Of Absence ◽  
Increasing Demand ◽  
State Medical Boards ◽  
Regulatory Challenges

ABSTRACT Physician reentry to clinical practice is fast becoming recognized as an issue of central importance in discussions about the physician workforce. While there are few empirical studies, existing data show that increasing numbers of physicians take a leave of absence from practice at some point during their careers; this trend is expected to continue. The process of returning to clinical practice is coming under scrutiny due to the public's increasing demand for transparency regarding physician competence. Criteria for medical licensure often do not include an expectation of ongoing clinical activity. Physicians who maintain a license but do not practice for a period of time, therefore, may be reentering the workforce with unknown competency to practice. This paper: (1) presents survey data on current physician reentry policies of state medical boards; (2) discusses the findings from the survey within the context of regulatory challenges that impact physician-reentry; and (3) offers recommendations to facilitate the development of comprehensive, coordinated regulatory policies on physician reentry.

The Birth of the Prophet Muhammad

2009 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 97-99
Author(s):  
Frederick S. Colby
Keyword(s):  
Twentieth Century ◽  
Middle Eastern ◽  
Formative Period ◽  
Central Importance ◽  
Islamic Studies ◽  
Critical Scholarship ◽  
History Of ◽  
Late Twentieth ◽  
Modern Era ◽  
Late Twentieth Century

Despite the central importance of festival and devotional piety to premodernMuslims, book-length studies in this field have been relatively rare.Katz’s work, The Birth of the Prophet Muhammad, represents a tour-deforceof critical scholarship that advances the field significantly both throughits engagement with textual sources from the formative period to the presentand through its judicious use of theoretical tools to analyze this material. Asits title suggests, the work strives to explore how Muslims have alternativelypromoted and contested the commemoration of the Prophet’s birth atdifferent points in history, with a particular emphasis on how the devotionalistapproach, which was prominent in the pre-modern era, fell out of favoramong Middle Eastern Sunnis in the late twentieth century. Aimed primarilyat specialists in Middle Eastern and Islamic studies, especially scholarsof history, law, and religion, this work is recommended to anyone interestedin the history of Muslim ritual, the history of devotion to the Prophet, andthe interplay between normative and non-normative forms ofMuslim beliefand practice ...

How Should We Educate Students Whose Cultures Frown upon Rational Disputation?

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Harvey Siegel
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Critical Thinking ◽  
Public Education ◽  
Cultural Diversity ◽  
Cultural Differences ◽  
Democratic Participation ◽  
Central Importance ◽  
Full Participation ◽  
Rational Argumentation

`How should public education in democratic states deal with the cultural diversity brought about by contemporary globalization? My suggestion is that key to democratic public education is the obligation to foster in students the skills and abilities, and attitudes and dispositions, needed to participate fully in democratic decision-making. Of central importance are the abilities and dispositions required for critical thinking and rational argumentation: evaluating arguments of others, constructing arguments of one’s own that might rationally persuade one’s fellow citizens, etc. Without these abilities and dispositions, full participation in democratic decision-making is impossible. But fostering them is problematic when students are members of cultures in which argumentation is frowned upon. In this paper I address this tension, and argue that while respecting cultural differences is of the first importance, in democracies it cannot override the requirements of democracy itself. When these two clash, the requirements of democratic participation must take precedence.

The Alternatives to War

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
James Pattison
Keyword(s):  
Just War ◽  
Just War Theory ◽  
Economic Sanctions ◽  
Responsibility To Protect ◽  
Military Action ◽  
Comprehensive Account ◽  
The Face ◽  
Normative Issues ◽  
Better Than

If states are not to go to war, what should they do instead? In The Alternatives to War: From Sanctions to Non-violence, James Pattison considers the case for the alternatives to military action to address mass atrocities and aggression. He covers the normative issues raised by measures ranging from comprehensive economic sanctions, diplomacy, and positive incentives, to criminal prosecutions, non-violent resistance, accepting refugees, and arming rebels. For instance, given the indiscriminateness of many sanctions regimes, are sanctions any better than war? Should states avoid ‘megaphone diplomacy’ and adopt more subtle measures? What, if anything, can non-violent methods such as civilian defence and civilian peacekeeping do in the face of a ruthless opponent? Is it a serious concern that positive incentives can appear to reward aggressors? Overall, Pattison provides a comprehensive account of the ethics of the alternatives to war. In doing so, he argues that the case for war is weaker and the case for many of the alternatives is stronger than commonly thought. The upshot is that, when reacting to mass atrocities and aggression, states are generally required to pursue the alternatives to war rather than military action. Pattison concludes that this has significant implications for pacifism, Just War Theory, and the responsibility to protect doctrine.

The Background II

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edmund Stewart
Keyword(s):  
Early Period ◽  
Fifth Century ◽  
Central Importance ◽  
Greek Culture

Chapter 2 demonstrates the central importance of travel to Greek culture. By the fifth century, a network of festivals and sanctuaries, where Greeks of all description could gather, perform, and exchange goods and ideas, was already in existence. Moreover, from an early period travel was seen as an essential part of the work of the poet. This is because poets were professionals who wished to display their skills and abilities before as wide an audience as possible. In many cases, they may also have wished to exploit wider opportunities for enrichment and employment than those available in their home cities. As such, though Greek poets come from many cities, their poetry does not belong exclusively to any one region or locality.

Conceptual Analysis Rebooted

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edouard Machery
Keyword(s):  
Experimental Method ◽  
Conceptual Analysis ◽  
Philosophical Tradition ◽  
Traditional Use ◽  
Philosophical Significance ◽  
Conceptual Engineering ◽  
Method Of Cases

Chapter 7 proposes a new, naturalistic characterization of conceptual analysis, defends its philosophical significance, and shows that usual concerns with conceptual analysis do not apply to this revamped version. So understood, conceptual analysis encompasses both a descriptive project and a normative project, similar to explication or to conceptual engineering. Chapter 7 also defends the philosophical significance of this novel form of conceptual analysis and its continuity with the role of conceptual analysis in the philosophical tradition. Furthermore, naturalized conceptual analysis often requires empirical tools to be pursued successfully, and an experimental method of cases 2.0 should often replace the traditional use of cases in philosophy.

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