Year: 2007

[Repost] Is full English-language instruction in the philosophy department worth promoting?

Teaching & Courses2007.07.21
[Repost] Is full English-language instruction in the philosophy department worth promoting?
http://www.gotopku.cn/forum/viewthread.php?tid=52639&pid=587739 There is nothing here that is worth advocating! I remember Teacher Li Silong made a good point: after all, we are studying Western philosophy in China. The purpose is not merely to study Western philosophy itself, but also to understand philosophy in the Chinese context and to spread and develop it. This is neither about learning a useful skill nor about learning a game completely unrelated to our own culture. If Western philosophy is to be introduced into China, how to translate and teach it in Chinese is itself one of the missions of those who work in Western philosophy. Although a particular philosophy researcher may be free to…
philosophy culture course Chinese
阅读全文

2007年7月21日
This Issue’s Music: Pachelbel, Canon

Life & Notes2007.07.21
This Issue’s Music: Pachelbel, Canon
http://www.wmlife.cn/UploadFile/_wmlife_audio/audioupload/instrument/0703/canon/1.wma Chamber orchestra version Flute version http://www.wmlife.cn/UploadFile/_wmlife_audio/audioupload/instrument/0703/canon/2.wma From the URL above, 1.wma through 15.wma are all various versions of the Canon; the catalog is here: http://www.amazon.cn/detail/product.asp?prodid=bkmu512560&source=w-90003370
everyday life music instrument
阅读全文

2007年7月21日
[Eng] John Cottingham: “Is Life Meaningful?”

Philosophy & Thought2007.07.20
[Eng] John Cottingham: “Is Life Meaningful?”
[英]John Cottingham: “Is Life Meaningful?”, translated by Wang Nan, Guangxi Normal University Press, May 2007, 16 yuan. This is also one of the books in the “Xingsi Essays Series, Pocket Reading” collection; it was the third book I took with me to Shanxi, but I didn’t have time to read it there, so today I casually took care of it. The theme is the meaning of life, and the author’s line of thought and point of view seem close to mine: from science to philosophy to religion. The range he covers is basically also within my own reach; it’s almost as if I wrote the article myself— which also means…
philosophy book reading notes faith
阅读全文

2007年7月20日
[Eng.] Edited by Mick O’Hare: Why Don’t Penguins’ Feet Freeze?

History of Science & Scholarship2007.07.20
[Eng.] Edited by Mick O’Hare: Why Don’t Penguins’ Feet Freeze?
[UK] Mick O’Hare, ed., *Why Don’t Penguin’s Feet Freeze? — 113 “Why” Questions and Answers from the General Public*, trans. Wang Mingyang, Guangxi Science and Technology Press, June 2007, 14.8 yuan Having held the top spot on the British Amazon overall bestseller list for 12 consecutive weeks, selling 130,000 copies in a single week and 830,000 copies in six months… jointly recommended by Zhang Jingzhong, Gan Zizhao, Jiang Xiaoyuan, and Liu Huajie… a book like this, of course, I could not let pass. This is indeed an extraordinary book—a popular-science book about all sorts of odd and amusing questions is not rare (though such books are generally imported ones), but…
book reading notes science communication
阅读全文

2007年7月20日
[Reposted] The Influence of Color on People

Life & Notes2007.07.19
[Reposted] The Influence of Color on People
Today I went to buy wall paint (given the price and other considerations, I’m still thinking of not using wallpaper), and I went straight to Dulux’s flagship store to have the color mixed. The countless colors available for me to choose from (computer color matching) really made me dizzy for a while…… Whether you call it melancholy or repressed, the main tone was decided, in any case, to be blue. But pure blue didn’t seem quite right either, so I agonized for quite a while over whether it should lean green or lean purple. Just as I was staring at the purple shades, a shop assistant said to me: “Is…
everyday life faith emotion psychology
阅读全文

2007年7月19日
[US] T. Dantzig: “Numbers: The Language of Science”

History of Science & Scholarship2007.07.18
[US] T. Dantzig: “Numbers: The Language of Science”
[美]T·Danzig: “Numbers: The Language of Science,” translated by Su Zhongxiang, Shanghai Education Press, December 2000, 17.1 yuan This book is a classic, though unfortunately it was written a little early (1938). Of course, read today it does not feel outdated; it’s just that in some places it seems to leave one wanting a bit more. Among the various popular mathematics books I have read in translation, this one is neither especially good nor especially bad—though it is also possible that, having already read so many related books, I’ve long since grown numb to much of the content… Page10, p12 Numerals are usually remarkably stable; even as everything else undergoes fundamental…
philosophy book reading notes philosophy of science
阅读全文

2007年7月18日
[ENG] Michael Gregoriou: “Kant’s Curse—A Murder Case of Pure Reason”

Philosophy & Thought2007.07.18
[ENG] Michael Gregoriou: “Kant’s Curse—A Murder Case of Pure Reason”
[Eng.] Michael Gregorio: *Kant’s Curse — The Pure Reason Murder Case*, translated by Bao Huiyi, People’s Literature Publishing House, May 2007, 29 yuan This book is not good. I read half of it a few months ago and then put it aside and stopped reading; now I’ve dug it out and forced myself to finish it. Not good— as a detective novel, it may still count as fairly decent, but Kant’s appearance in the book is simply unacceptable. July 18, 2007 Latest Comments UNIC 2007-07-18 14:54:44 Anonymous 220.171.180.115 Seen it in a bookstore,,,,,nice title, but once I saw it was a novel,,,,,
philosophy book reading notes Kant
阅读全文

2007年7月18日
[France] Brigitte Labbé, Michel Puech: “A Philosophy Primer for Children”

Philosophy & Thought2007.07.17
[France] Brigitte Labbé, Michel Puech: “A Philosophy Primer for Children”
[French] Brigitte Labbé, Michel Puech: *A Philosophical Introduction for Children*, translated by Pan Lin, Wang Chuanya, et al., Guangxi Normal University Press, June 2005, 125.00 yuan — ☆ At last I’ve found a set of philosophy gift books! (I’ve only flipped through half a volume, so I won’t say much for now; in any case, it’s pretty good.) This series claims to be written for children and teenagers aged eight and up. In my view, parents are the more suitable readers. The best way to initiate children into philosophy, in any case, should be direct conversation. A Philosophical Introduction for Children (Complete Set of 6 Volumes) July 17, 2007 Latest…
philosophy book reading notes education
阅读全文

2007年7月17日
[English] Maugham: The Moon and Sixpence

Culture & Public Commentary2007.07.17
[English] Maugham: The Moon and Sixpence
[English] Maugham: *The Moon and Sixpence*, translated by Fu Weici, Shanghai Translation Publishing House, August 2006, 12 yuan As for works of literature, I have never dared to pass judgment too readily. To put it simply, this book depicts an artist who exists in my ideal world—and for that reason his life did not surprise me very much. Of course, I completely identify with and admire Charles Strickland’s “conduct”; although my own life could in no way be similar to his, perhaps, as Captain Brono said (p. 247), I too am pursuing the same thing. What Strickland’s attitude toward love and marriage tells us is precisely what I have always…
philosophy book reading notes humanities
阅读全文

2007年7月17日
“A Peking University Person”

Life & Notes2007.07.16
“A Peking University Person”
Peking University’s school emblem was designed by Mr. Lu Xun. It consists of two side-profile human figures and one front-facing standing human figure, forming the characters “北大” (PKU). There are different explanations of its specific meaning. According to legend, in Lu Xun’s own view, the human figure at the bottom represents the teachers and staff, while the two human figures above refer to the students, roughly implying that the teachers and staff serve the students. Of course, this meaning cannot possibly be accepted by today’s university senior administrators, who are turning universities into duck farms—treating teachers as hired labor and students as ducks—but even according to Peking University’s current official…
everyday life freedom education Peking University
阅读全文

2007年7月16日