Applied Conceptual Engineering (ACE)

CONCEPTUAL ENGINEERING focuses on how best to assess and improve our conceptual apparatuses. In less than half a decade, it has become a central topic of contemporary analytic philosophy. Current work in conceptual engineering goes in two main directions. Case study research, on the one hand, which focuses on specific concepts and then advocates for specific improvement. Metaphilosophical research, on the other hand, which explicitly focuses on conceptual engineering qua philosophical method and deals, for instance, with issues related to its theoretical foundations. The ACE Conference takes the next step: It bridges the gap between these two trends of research in conceptual engineering and focuses on how conceptual engineering actually works. Thereby, it aims to contribute to turning conceptual engineering into a form of applied philosophy that has a direct bearing on areas of practical concern.