Year: 2008

The Philosopher’s “Manifest” and “Hidden”

Philosophy & Thought2008.10.10
The Philosopher’s “Manifest” and “Hidden”
In the comments received not long after the posting of “Pinned Post 2,” one mm mentioned that I was “a manifest type” rather than “an implicit type,” and so on. The specifics can be seen directly in that post, so I won’t repeat them here. Typical feminine-style comments are headache-inducing, because they are hard to deal with. As that mm said, “…more intuitive”: once a comment is made “from intuition,” then it becomes very hard to criticize. Only when a theory is built on “reasons” is it possible to inspect and criticize it, because “reasons” are public, whereas “intuition” is always private; I cannot criticize another person’s “intuition.” In addition,…
philosophy culture scholarship public sphere
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2008年10月10日
[Unpinned][Pinned 2] An Introduction to Gu Chi, Contact Information, and Comments and Questions

Life & Notes2008.10.08
[Unpinned][Pinned 2] An Introduction to Gu Chi, Contact Information, and Comments and Questions
Suixuan’s miserably sparse comments and messages have always left me rather depressed. But when I look at those more popular academic blogs, most of the comments there are just “Good post,” “Respect,” “Adore,” “Saved,” and so on, or else a couple of contemptuous insults. Readers like me who can respectfully offer criticism are still very rare. Thinking of it that way, the quiet on Suixuan is actually a good thing. Many friends would rather communicate with me privately than leave even a few words on the blog, and of course I can understand that—as I, too, would rather argue online than ask questions in class. Everyone has his or her…
philosophy blog autobiography Peking University
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2008年10月8日
The replacement of “freedom” by “equality” is the common root of the predicament of modern science and modern democracy

Culture & Public Commentary2008.10.07
The replacement of “freedom” by “equality” is the common root of the predicament of modern science and modern democracy
This little essay was scribbled down when I had an itch to comment on a recent post by Professor Wu; see: http://blog.sina.com.cn/s/blog_51fdc0620100bi39.html#cmt_1382340 Since the issues involved are rather important, I am not recording this passage in the usual “repost—archive” way, but tentatively pasting it here again. Since this passage is both rough and hasty, there is plenty of room for questions. ———————— Science and democracy can be said to be of the same origin and current, with their roots in ancient Greece, their modern versions in the Enlightenment, and their contemporary forms both taking the United States as a model. And their contemporary forms both differ markedly from ancient Greece….
culture freedom modernity equality
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2008年10月7日
An Essay on Freedom of Speech

Culture & Public Commentary2008.10.05
An Essay on Freedom of Speech
“Freedom of thought” is reflected at the social level as “freedom of speech,” and “freedom of speech” at the legal level appears as the principle that one can never be “punished for what one says.” It is necessary to distinguish “punished for what one says” from crimes committed by means of speech, such as incitement, defamation, insult, agitation, deception, and so on. There are countless offenses carried out through speech, and these convictions are not necessarily unreasonable. But one must always remain clear-headed in distinguishing this: none of these charges can be “punished for what one says”; the basis for conviction can never be the speech alone, but must rest…
culture freedom trust law
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2008年10月5日
[US] Jacques Thillo, Keith C. Lassman: Ethics and Life (9th Edition)

Philosophy & Thought2008.10.01
[US] Jacques Thillo, Keith C. Lassman: Ethics and Life (9th Edition)
[US] Jacques Thirou, Keith Klusmann: Ethics and Life (9th Edition), translated by Cheng Lixian, Liu Jian, et al., reviewed by Zhou Fucheng, World Book Publishing Company, August 2008, 58 yuan Not recommended. Although I only flipped through it for about half an hour before putting it aside. But I can confirm that this book is not to my taste. First let’s look at the promotional slip attached to the cover (what is the technical term for this thing?): “On February 2, 2006, the very day the revised manuscript of the ninth edition of this book was completed, Professor Jacques Thirou suddenly passed away, leaving the world this labor-of-love work that…
philosophy book reading book review experts
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2008年10月1日
How I Came to Approach Philosophy of Science (A Whig History)

Life & Notes2008.09.27
How I Came to Approach Philosophy of Science (A Whig History)
I didn’t write it well… not recommended reading.. Life is full of possibilities. In the course of my growing up, had it not been for those chance encounters and coincidences, I’m afraid I would not have set out on the road I’m on now—perhaps I would have gone into economics, or become a scientist; most likely, perhaps, I would have become some kind of amateur science nerd or armchair philosopher. But in the end I still ended up here: the philosophy of technology at Peking University. It was accidental, and yet somehow it also feels as though it came naturally, the most natural outcome of all. Looking back over my…
autobiography Peking University mathematics modernity
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2008年9月27日
About My Private Residence

Life & Notes2008.09.25
About My Private Residence
xyt, if you don’t like this kind of thing, don’t come in~ About My Private Residence It has been more than a year since I moved from the former “Yangroupao Dwelling” into my new home; after going to graduate school I simply stopped applying for dormitory housing, so I can be said to have settled down here. At the very least, before I have children, this will certainly be my permanent residence. I once wrote a special piece on “Yangroupao Dwelling” and posted many photos, yet after moving into the new place for a year I still never mentioned it on the blog, merely slipping the new address in quietly…
everyday life technology blog
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2008年9月25日
[Spanish] Fernando Savater: “The Invitation to Ethics” —★

Philosophy & Thought2008.09.21
[Spanish] Fernando Savater: “The Invitation to Ethics” —★
[西]Fernando Savater: “An Invitation to Ethics,” translated by Yushi Yang, Peking University Press2008, 9月,20 yuan——★ As for the earlier An Invitation to Philosophy (see https://yilinhut.net/2007/11/01/1070.html), I had a very high opinion of it; the author’s better-known An Invitation to Ethics was also long anticipated. It finally went on sale a few days ago, and after buying it I finished it in a little over an hour. It is indeed quite good, and worth recommending. Printed at the top of the cover of this book is the sentence: “The only purpose of ethics is to strive to improve oneself, rather than to drone on condemning others.” Even if I had not…
philosophy book reading notes freedom
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2008年9月21日
———————————Draw a dividing line———————————

Site Matters2008.09.11
———————————Draw a dividing line———————————
Hu Tianding posted on 2008-09-11 00:34:04 Tomorrow marks a new beginning. Time flies like an arrow, and the 9/11 from seven years ago has somehow become so distant, the 9/11 from two years ago is also gradually receding into the distance, but my watch is still by my side, arriving ahead of time for the appointment, don’t act on impulse, democracy. September 11 2008
politics website democracy time
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2008年9月11日
This Week’s Music: Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto in E Minor, First Movement

Life & Notes2008.09.10
This Week’s Music: Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto in E Minor, First Movement
http://www.yf.net.cn/musichall/foreign_music/080218-02.mp3 A faster link, but a different version: http://hdl7lhk7.hfes.cn/uploadfile/e.mp3 Here’s another violin concerto~ Reposting a brief introduction: http://www.hongen.com/art/gdyy/amqbl/ga30903.htm The Violin Concerto in E minor was composed between 1838 and 1844, and first performed in 1845. Among Mendelssohn’s violin concertos, this one is the most famous, and together with Beethoven’s D major, Brahms’s D major, and Tchaikovsky’s D major violin concertos, it is known as one of the world’s four great violin concertos. The whole work is filled with tender romantic feeling and an even, well-proportioned formal beauty; the treatment of the violin is exquisite beyond compare, the melody is lovely, and the technique dazzling, reaching the summit of perfection. It…
everyday life music works
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2008年9月10日