Abstract

This paper examines whether conceptual engineering can proceed without intuitions, exploring the methodological tensions between Herman Cappelen’s normative reconstruction and Edouard Machery’s empirical turn. It argues that both approaches struggle with authority and implementation: intuitions collapse inward, while empirical description cannot generate revision. The essay proposes that digital design, through algorithmic feedback, participatory metrics, and normative system constraints, already performs conceptual engineering in practice. This “design turn” reveals a living model where concepts are tested and enacted, suggesting that philosophy can learn from the architectures it critiques.