Re-engineering educational concepts: a note of caution

There is currently some interest in the idea that philosophers in general, and philosophers of education in particular, might ‘re-engineer’ familiar concepts with a view to improving or ameliorating them in some way. Here I issue a note of caution about that enterprise. My discussion is divided into three parts. In the first, I draw on some recent work by David Chalmers to clarify the distinction between engineering new concepts and re-engineering old ones and to supply a general reason for thinking philosophers should favour the former. In the second part, I argue that philosophers of education (and philosophers of other practical activities) have some additional reasons to refrain from trying to re-engineer everyday concepts. And in the third, I consider two recent arguments for re-engineering the concept of education and find them wanting.