Essentially Contested Concepts
His paper on 'Essentially Contested Concepts' (Proceedings of the Aristotelian Society, vol. 56, 1956, pp. 167-198) is a seminal statement in the philosophy of the social sciences. Here, Gallie argued that it is impossible to conclusively define key appraisive concepts such as 'social justice,' 'democracy,' 'Christian life', 'art', 'moral goodness' and 'duty', although it is possible and rational to discuss one's justifications for holding one interpretation over competing ones. Clarification of such concepts involves not the examination of predictive relations (as is the case for most scientific concepts), but rather, consideration of how the concept has been used by different parties throughout its history.
Read more about this topic: W. B. Gallie
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