Explication

Short note

Note needs to be developed and expanded.

Explication is the replacement of an extant, inexact or ambiguous concept with a new, more precise or useful concept ¹.

Explication is a normative act, in that it applies value judgements about what properties a concept should have. This may involve a significant transformation of the original concept.

Philosophers have suggested criteria for a successful explication, including that the new concept is more clear and/or useful, but also that the new concept can be substituted for the old concept without a substantial loss of meaning.