Linguistic Interventions and the Ethics of Conceptual Disruption

Research output: Contribution to JournalArticleAcademicpeer-review

Abstract

Several authors in psychology and philosophy have recently raised the following question: when is it permissible to intentionally change the meaning and use of our words and concepts? I argue that an arguably prior question has received much less attention: Even if there were good moral or epistemic reasons for conceptual or semantic changes, this does not yet justify pushing or lobbying for such changes if they are socially and conceptually disruptive. In this paper, I develop the beginnings of an ethics of conceptual disruption as well as a set of norms of linguistic interventions based on it.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)835-849
JournalEthical Theory and Moral Practice
Volume25
Issue number5
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Nov 2022
Externally publishedYes

Funding

FundersFunder number
Netherlands Organization for International Cooperation in Higher Education024.004.031

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