Linguistic Interventions and the Ethics of Conceptual Disruption

Löhr, Guido

doi:10.1007/s10677-022-10321-9

Cited by 15 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 26 publications

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“…These include harms that are not directly concerned with one's physical state of being (e.g., privacy violations), potential shifts in societal practices (e.g., changes in the relative weight of health solidarity in public health debates), and, linking to recent work on social and conceptual disruption (cf. [74][75][76], changes in how concepts related to health and disease are understood.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ethics of early detection of disease risk factors: A scoping review

Jansen,

Kamphorst,

Mulder

et al. 2024

BMC Med Ethics

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Background Scientific and technological advancements in mapping and understanding the interrelated pathways through which biological and environmental exposures affect disease development create new possibilities for detecting disease risk factors. Early detection of such risk factors may help prevent disease onset or moderate the disease course, thereby decreasing associated disease burden, morbidity, and mortality. However, the ethical implications of screening for disease risk factors are unclear and the current literature provides a fragmented and case-by-case picture. Methods To identify key ethical considerations arising from the early detection of disease risk factors, we performed a systematic scoping review. The Scopus, Embase, and Philosopher’s Index databases were searched for peer-reviewed, academic records, which were included if they were written in English or Dutch and concerned the ethics of (1) early detection of (2) disease risk factors for (3) disease caused by environmental factors or gene-environment interactions. All records were reviewed independently by at least two researchers. Results After screening 2034 titles and abstracts, and 112 full papers, 55 articles were included in the thematic synthesis of the results. We identified eight common ethical themes: (1) Reliability and uncertainty in early detection, (2) autonomy, (3) privacy, (4) beneficence and non-maleficence, (5) downstream burdens on others, (6) responsibility, (7) justice, and (8) medicalization and conceptual disruption. We identified several gaps in the literature, including a relative scarcity of research on ethical considerations associated with environmental preventive health interventions, a dearth of practical suggestions on how to address expressed concerns about overestimating health capacities, and a lack of insights into preventing undue attribution of health responsibility to individuals. Conclusions The ethical concerns arising with the early detection of risk factors are often interrelated and complex. Comprehensive ethical analyses are needed that are better embedded in normative frameworks and also assess and weigh the expected benefits of early risk factor detection. Such research is necessary for developing and implementing responsible and fair preventive health policies.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ethics of early detection of disease risk factors: A scoping review

Jansen,

Kamphorst,

Mulder

et al. 2024

BMC Med Ethics

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“…Imagine a prehistoric community that discovers how to modify a stone such that it can better be used as a hammer. The new artifact might not immediately be classified by the current model because we lack the necessary conceptual structure to make sense of it (Hopster, 2021; Löhr, 2022). We have a model for stones and their different possible properties but perhaps no model or set of priors for thinking about stone as a hammer.…”

Section: Ce As Model Assessment Revision and Enactmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…First, we are usually struck by a problem with our conceptual system, say, an inconsistency or conceptual gap. These “conceptual disruptions” (Löhr, 2022) can be prompted, for example, by the introduction of a new technological artifact that generates uncertainty about which concepts to apply or “how to go on” (Wittgenstein, 2010, §151). When reflecting on the disruptions, we then identify the conditions that led to them.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Conceptual engineering, predictive processing, and a new implementation problem

Löhr

Michel

2023

Mind & Language

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According to predictive processing, an increasingly influential paradigm in cognitive science, the function of the brain is to minimize the prediction error of its sensory input. Conceptual engineering is the practice of assessing and changing concepts or word meanings. We contribute to both strands of research by proposing the first cognitive account of conceptual engineering, using the predictive processing framework. Our model reveals a new kind of implementation problem as prediction errors are only minimized if enough agents embrace conceptual changes. This problem can be overcome by emphasizing the importance of social norms and conceptual pluralism.

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“…Conceptual disruptions may give rise to conceptual changes, but this need not always be the case (Löhr, 2022). In fact, technological pressures may also give impetus to conceptual preservation (Lindauer, 2020).…”

Section: Types Of Conceptual Disruptionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

6. Conceptual Disruption and the Ethics of Technology

Hopster,

Brey,

Klenk

et al. 2023

Ethics of Socially Disruptive Technologies

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This chapter provides a theoretical lens on conceptual disruption. It offers a typology of conceptual disruption, discusses its relation to conceptual engineering, and sketches a programmatic view of the implications of conceptual disruption for the ethics of technology. We begin by distinguishing between three different kinds of conceptual disruptions: conceptual gaps, conceptual overlaps, and conceptual misalignments. Subsequently, we distinguish between different mechanisms of conceptual disruption, and two modes of conceptual change. We point out that disruptions may be induced by technology, but can also be triggered by intercultural exchanges. Conceptual disruptions frequently yield conceptual uncertainty and may call for conceptual and ethical inquiry. We argue that a useful approach to address conceptual disruptions is to engage in conceptual engineering. We outline what conceptual engineering involves and argue that discussions on conceptual disruption and conceptual engineering can benefit from closer integration. In closing, we discuss the relevance of studying conceptual disruption for technology ethics, and point to the promise of this line of research to innovate practical philosophy at large.

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Linguistic Interventions and the Ethics of Conceptual Disruption

Cited by 15 publications

References 26 publications

Ethics of early detection of disease risk factors: A scoping review

Ethics of early detection of disease risk factors: A scoping review

Conceptual engineering, predictive processing, and a new implementation problem

6. Conceptual Disruption and the Ethics of Technology

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