Are Ameliorated Concepts Better Overall?

Conceptual amelioration is one of the most discussed topics in social ontology. As originally proposed by Sally Haslanger (2000), conceptual amelioration is a conceptual revision or introduction of a new concept by first asking which questions or problems we want to use the concept to solve and to define it accordingly. In her programmatic study, Haslanger develops ameliorated concepts of gender and race, with the aim of exposing the unjust power asymmetries between women and men, and between white and non-white, and of creating a new social reality by the help of them. The paper first examines Sally Haslanger’s original proposal, and then two other philosophical projects that explicitly draw on the method of conceptual amelioration: Katherine Jenkins’ plural concept of woman and Kate Manne’s concept of misogyny. Exploring the main ambiguities, theoretical and practical difficulties, the author argues for a revised form of conceptual amelioration, according to which it is legitimate to change the meaning of a social concept or to introduce a new concept if and only if the new concept gives better explanations for a wider range of social phenomena, especially for those who suffer disadvantages as a result of the social injustices in question.