Conceptual analysis proposes a processual multiplex theory of scientific definitions in polysemous scientific debates, highlighting how active defining regulates conceptual meaning.
How to understand definitions of polysemous concepts in the sciences has generated significant philosophical debate. In this paper, I extend pragmatist and inferentialist theories of scientific concepts to definitions and propose a processual approach to definitions, which views definitions as consisting of the activity of defining. I develop this into a specific framework called ‘the multiplex theory’ according to which defining is an organized process by which concept users integrate semantic resources into certain tasks in a way that regulates and develops the meaning of the concept. The theory is then exemplified by applying it to a case study in the origins-of-life debate.
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Sebastian Sander Oest (2026) studied this question.
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