概念膨脹

Conceptual Inflation

三十多年來理論家們持續表達對概念膨脹的憂慮。這些憂慮經常是針對「種族主義」與「種族主義的」，以及其他在政治上有爭議的詞彙。然而，這些理論家們並未總能清楚說明概念膨脹究竟是什麼，又為何值得擔憂。透過梳理這些概念膨脹批評中不同的論述，我們建立出一套區分不同類型概念膨脹的分類架構。我們首先簡要回顧概念膨脹批評的發展歷程，並聚焦於「種族主義」和「種族主義的」這兩個詞彙。接著，我們區分概念膨脹批評當中的描述性成分與規範性成分。在描述性成分方面，我們強調其核心在於意義，而不是使用頻率，並進一步釐清這些理論家所關注的詞彙意義變異的不同面向。我們區分語意的兩個層面——外延與強度——以及兩種變異型態——共時性變異與歷時性變異。我們的分類架構揭示出哪種證據可以支持或挑戰不同類型的概念膨脹批評。

Theorists have raised worries about conceptual inflation for more than three decades. These worries have been frequently expressed about“racism”and“racist,”as well as other politically contested terms. However, these theorists have not always been clear about what conceptual inflation is or why it is worrisome. By disentangling different threads of these conceptual inflation critiques, we construct a taxonomy of different types of conceptual inflation. We start with a brief history of conceptual inflation critiques, with a focus on the terms“racism”and“racist.”We then separate out descriptive and normative components of conceptual inflation critiques. Focusing on the descriptive component, we emphasize that it is about meaning and not frequency of use, and we clarify different aspects about variation in the meaning of these terms that has concerned these theorists. We distinguish between two aspects of meaning, extension and intensity, and two kinds of variation, synchronic and diachronic. Our taxonomy reveals what kind of evidence would support or challenge different types of conceptual inflation critiques.