Critical Elucidation of Concepts as a Philosophical Competence

Abstract

The starting point of this article is the didactic question of the relationship between conceptual knowledge and competencies in the education of philosophy and ethics. Against the background of the philosophical debate on the conception of concepts, a conception of concepts as abilities is outlined. With this conception, in a first step, the disjunction between conceptual knowledge on the one hand and competencies on the other hand is dissolved. In a second step, a learning-theoretical framework of the formation of philosophical concepts is developed through a critical examination of the so-called conceptual change. As a result, critical elucidation of concepts presents itself as a fundamental goal of ethics and philosophy teaching.