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Year: 2006

A Disappointing Marxist Philosophy Forum

Life & Notes2006.04.05
A Disappointing Marxist Philosophy Forum
Today I attended the philosophy-forum event. I was deeply disappointed. The topic was “Transcending and Reflecting on ‘Modernity,’” with Nie Jinfang, Zhang Libo, Yang Xuegong, and Yang Haifeng. Originally they had said Feng Zhiyi would chair it, but Teacher Feng didn’t come. Teacher Nie seemed to say that his absence would not have much effect on the level of the forum, but I think the level was truly terrible. I do not doubt the academic standing of the teachers involved, but as a forum open to all teachers and students across the university, this event was a failure—one might even say a shameful forum! At the very least, the image…
philosophy everyday life scholarship discussion
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Apr 5, 2006
Xiao Gu Talks Quantum Physics (Colloquial Edition) — Lecture One: The Gains of Not Understanding

History of Science & Scholarship2006.04.04
Xiao Gu Talks Quantum Physics (Colloquial Edition) — Lecture One: The Gains of Not Understanding
Xiaogu Talks About Quantum Physics (Colloquial Version) Lecture One: The Gains of Not Understanding The reading salon has been eagerly anticipated for a long time. You all know that I am very fond of books: first I like buying books, and second I like reading books. Among students, I’m probably the one who buys the most books. Of course, they are not all just for show; I have read quite a few of them. There are simply far too many books on the market now. There is a pile of bad books, but there are also far too many good books. If you asked me to pick two books from…
science history of science philosophy of science scientific spirit
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Apr 4, 2006
Human Nature and Human Essence—A Discussion in Everyday Language

Culture & Public Commentary2006.04.03
Human Nature and Human Essence—A Discussion in Everyday Language
What is meant by “essence” is “the fundamental nature of a thing.” The essence of human beings refers to the fundamental reason by which a human being becomes human, qualifies as human, and is distinguished from other things. What is meant by “human nature” is, in the most general dictionary sense: “the normal feelings and reason possessed by human beings.” Clearly, for example, the criterion of biological classification—for instance, saying that a human being is an animal “with two legs and no feathers”—is not a matter of philosophical concern. What, then, can the “essence of human beings” discussed in a philosophical sense include, besides feelings and reason? It is clear…
philosophy culture human nature self
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Apr 3, 2006
Science—Seen from a Religious Perspective

History of Science & Scholarship2006.04.03
Science—Seen from a Religious Perspective
Human beings are descended from animals; one could even say that human beings are a kind of animal. Of course, human beings are not only animals. Human beings have their own distinctive strengths; their power to understand the world and transform the world is incomparable with that of animals, and rational thought and judgment are the special hallmarks of humanity. To regard human beings merely as a kind of animal is indeed one-sided. But to view human beings from the standpoint from which we view animals, and to examine the commonalities and similarities between human beings and animals, is obviously also highly meaningful. It helps us examine human nature from…
philosophy science philosophy of science faith
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Apr 3, 2006
Xu Jinhua’s Lecture

Life & Notes2006.04.02
Xu Jinhua’s Lecture
Pretty interesting. Mr. Xu was very witty. But he does indeed seem to have a bit of a folk-science air about him. His “integrated waterway” sounds far too mystical; to fantasize about solving “all environmental problems” through such a technology, even if Mr. Xu insists that this is not technology but science, is still a bit too naive. As for the “fundamental error of Einstein,” that was the weak point of Mr. Xu’s lecture this time. Of course, science must oppose blind faith in authority, but scientific masters are after all masters—how could they be so easily refuted? Wave-particle duality is after all persuasive; not to mention photons and light…
everyday life science scientific spirit Einstein
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Apr 2, 2006
Some Counterfactual Conditionals in the Natural Sciences

History of Science & Scholarship2006.03.30
Some Counterfactual Conditionals in the Natural Sciences
Construct two counterfactual conditionals, and consider whether the relation between counterfactual conditionals and the laws of natural science is intrinsic or merely superficial. The sentences you construct should involve natural-science content and be as creative or original as possible. 1.Frege: If the density of iron were less than that of water, it would float on water.[①] 2.Einstein’s “first naive thought experiment” concerning relativity: If a person were to run along with a light wave at the speed of light, then he would find himself in a wave field that does not change with time. (But it seems that this would not happen!)[②] 3.Hawking’s discussion of the origin of the universe…
philosophy science history of science counterfactuals
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Mar 30, 2006
The Religious Views of Great Scientists: Quotation Piling

Philosophy & Thought2006.03.28
The Religious Views of Great Scientists: Quotation Piling
The Big Scientists’ View of Religion: A Heap of Quotations Einstein: You will have a hard time finding among scientists of deep attainment anyone who does not have his own religious feeling. — “The Religious Spirit of Science,” in The Collected Works of Einstein, vol. 1, p. 67 A person inspired by religion has already, to the greatest possible extent, freed himself from the shackles of selfish desire, and is wholly devoted to thoughts, feelings, and aspirations that possess transpersonal value and which he holds fast to. What I consider important is the power of this content that transcends the individual, and the depth of the belief in its far-reaching…
book reading notes history of science philosophy of science
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Mar 28, 2006
What Does Scientific Explanation Explain?

History of Science & Scholarship2006.03.27
What Does Scientific Explanation Explain?
Some people say that the purpose of science is to provide explanations; this is probably right, because science arises from the pursuit of knowledge, and the pursuit of knowledge arises from “wonder.” The common origin of science and philosophy is humanity’s “curiosity” about this world. It is because we ask “what?” that science came into being, and the original purpose of science was indeed to try to explain how various phenomena can be understood. The object of scientific explanation is the “explained sentence” — the “Why is it that…?” sentence. So what different types of explained sentences are there? One distinction divides explained sentences into necessary events and probable events,…
science philosophy of science causality determinism
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Mar 27, 2006
Further Thoughts on Guo Degang

Culture & Public Commentary2006.03.26
Further Thoughts on Guo Degang
I do like listening to crosstalk, but I don’t know much about the performing arts, and I’ve not thought about them very deeply either. So in the first place, there was no need for me to choose this topic and write an essay about it. Still, lately I’ve begun to feel that, however much of a philosopher one may be, one ought at least to cultivate a sufficient concern for problems—on any topic worth discussing, if you put in a certain amount of effort, you can immediately spin out a few opinions. Since I’ve always hoped that friends would comment on the topics I discuss on my blog, even when…
culture China commentary humor
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Mar 26, 2006
On “Preaching the Gospel and Popularizing Science”

History of Science & Scholarship2006.03.25
On “Preaching the Gospel and Popularizing Science”
Professor Liu Huajie, in his essay “Preaching the Gospel and Doing Popular Science” (http://blog.sina.com.cn/u/485ea879010002nu), makes an interesting comparison between science communication and religious communication. My feeling is this: just as religion is not necessarily something loathsome, to say that scientific activity is similar to religious activity, or even that science in a certain sense has become a kind of religion, is not necessarily meant to demean science. If one were truly to spread science with the attitude of preaching the gospel, that devotion would be worthy of respect. However, just as superstition in religion is similar, many “believers” in science are merely “superstitiously” believing in science in a condition of…
philosophy science Aristotle religion
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Mar 25, 2006

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