Year: 2008

Seven Subjects of Moral Education (How to Do Moral Education?)

Culture & Public Commentary2008.07.17
Seven Subjects of Moral Education (How to Do Moral Education?)
Moral education is not the task of the university. By the time they enter college, most students are already adults, and their individual character has long since taken basic shape. A university ought to build a stage on which all kinds of different personalities can coexist, guiding each character to shine in its own distinctive way; it should not then try to remake students’ personalities. Primary and secondary education are different. Primary and secondary schools, together with parents, bear the mission of cultivating and shaping children’s character. The “not yet complete” in “minors” refers precisely to the fact that their personality and character have not yet taken shape, and their…
philosophy culture freedom education
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2008年7月17日
A Brief Note on “Wandering in the Clouds” (1)

Life & Notes2008.07.16
A Brief Note on “Wandering in the Clouds” (1)
From July 8 to 15 I went to Yunnan with my parents for a trip—“cloud roaming,” for short. Of course, this sort of traveling can’t compare with the real “cloud roaming” I yearn for. I’m using this title for the post just to indulge my own yy~ We went with a Spring and Autumn Travel Agency group. Spring and Autumn is one of Shanghai’s old-established travel agencies; back when my parents went on their honeymoon by travel package, it was also Spring and Autumn, so it was certainly more正规 and reliable than those small, fly-by-night agencies. Still, no matter what travel agency it is, it can’t be compared with independent…
everyday life China economy locality
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2008年7月16日
This Issue’s Music: Akatsuki no Kuruma (Insert Song from Gundam SEED)

Site Matters2008.07.06
This Issue’s Music: Akatsuki no Kuruma (Insert Song from Gundam SEED)
Looking for a song that fits a graduation mood, I entered a few keywords and, by a strange twist of fate, found this one. Just recently I happened to hear it in some restaurant; at the time I couldn’t remember what song it was, and so it turns out it was this one. I haven’t watched GUNDAM SEED (among all the anime I’ve watched, not a single GUNDAM series has yet been watched through in full; I’m truly ashamed. By the way, the latest GUNDAM 00 is very good, reaching a kind of brand-new realm), but of course I’ve heard this famous song. If one is looking for a classic…
website music anime
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2008年7月6日
[Repost] Ya Li’s Remarks on Fan Meizhong

Life & Notes2008.07.06
[Repost] Ya Li’s Remarks on Fan Meizhong
鸭梨’s writing always feels pleasing to the eye~ Public opinion on the Fan Meizhong affair had two peaks. The first naturally came right after the incident; as far as I could tell, One When the incident first broke, I was also very confused: should this matter, and this person, simply be written off with one blow? I do not like Fan’s articles, especially that famous declaration, which began with his saying that he “pursues freedom and justice” and ended with his becoming a target of public reproach for not saving his mother, as well as the deep loathing he displayed in earlier writings toward his own country…
everyday life morality Confucius
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2008年7月6日
“United in Hatred Against the Enemy” and “Hating Evil as Though It Were an Enemy”: I Can’t Do That.

Life & Notes2008.07.04
“United in Hatred Against the Enemy” and “Hating Evil as Though It Were an Enemy”: I Can’t Do That.
Friends who have long followed Suixuan will probably already have noticed that Unic, who used to be a regular here and once declared how much she agreed with my views and how much she supported my blog, suddenly became so agitated after I came back from my period of seclusion that she eventually left Suixuan. Some people may wonder: what on earth happened? In fact I was quite astonished myself; I really had underestimated a girl’s emotional reactions. But there was nothing to be done about it. Gentleness and deference may put others at ease, but they cannot help them reach a decision. And since she was facing the college…
philosophy faith autobiography human nature
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2008年7月4日
A Tour Guide to the Mathematical World — “Two-Dimensional at Home and Abroad”

History of Science & Scholarship2008.06.26
A Tour Guide to the Mathematical World — “Two-Dimensional at Home and Abroad”
This is the first time I’ve been invited to write and submit a book review, and in the spirit of this year’s Guangdong College Entrance Examination essay topic, I took on the task~ Writing an article for submission is painful. That piece “A Brief Talk on the Popularization of Philosophy,” though it was published too, had been written rather casually at the time; writing specifically for submission really was a first for me, and it seems I’m still not quite suited to it. Ideally I could have written it better, but on the one hand I was rushing to finish it before my graduation trip, and on the other hand…
book reading mathematics book review
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2008年6月26日
A Loose Talk on “Reasonable” and “Lawful” — Why Is Violent Revolution Unreasonable?

Culture & Public Commentary2008.06.21
A Loose Talk on “Reasonable” and “Lawful” — Why Is Violent Revolution Unreasonable?
I want to note first that what I am saying is that violent revolution is “unreasonable,” not that I will never support violent revolution, but rather that there is no reason to support violent revolution. Although philosophy’s mission is to probe reasons, it is not the case that every one of a person’s preferences must be given reasons. For example, I like eating vegetables; then I like eating vegetables, that is enough, there is no need to come up with a whole lot of reasons to argue for the reasonableness of liking vegetables, as if those who do not like vegetables were somehow at fault. Even if 99% of the…
philosophy culture Kant language
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2008年6月21日
On BBS’s Suitability for Academic Exchange: Online Forums Should Replace Academic Conferences

History of Science & Scholarship2008.06.12
On BBS’s Suitability for Academic Exchange: Online Forums Should Replace Academic Conferences
http://hps.phil.pku.edu.cn/bbs/read.php?tid=409 Before reading this post, you may as well first look at: the 4th and 5th floor of http://hps.phil.pku.edu.cn/bbs/read.php?tid=408. I have never attended an academic conference, so my understanding of the matter is purely speculative. If there are any inaccuracies or improprieties, please do point them out. Many activities are epochal: in a certain era, such activities possess important practical significance; yet as the times change, the original practical purpose may no longer be needed, or may be replaced by other activities, while the activity itself may still continue in form, becoming a symbolic, ritual, ceremonial, or recreational activity. Perhaps “academic conferences” will also be like this? Are there…
scholarship internet discussion public sphere
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2008年6月12日
On the Fan Paopao Incident

Culture & Public Commentary2008.06.07
On the Fan Paopao Incident
This was something I wrote two weeks ago when Ceiling initiated a group email discussion. Today I saw Fan’s new interview, so it counts as a hot topic too. I’ll just post my text to the blog; discussion is welcome — my position is roughly this: if you want to defend Fan, then I can criticize you; if you want to denounce Fan, then I’ll criticize you too. As for Zhou Xiaozheng’s attitude in the interview, I rather agree with it, though I didn’t read it carefully. Some of Fan Meizhong’s remarks are in fact quite reasonable — at the very least, they are worth thinking about — and one…
philosophy China commentary Kant
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2008年6月7日
Reading and Freedom (I)

Enlightenment & the Spirit of Freedom2008.06.03
Reading and Freedom (I)
In the essay “Reading as a Way of Thinking,” I said roughly this: if one merely sits there alone thinking desperately and turning things over and over, the effect is often counterproductive; one’s distress only sinks deeper and deeper, while the problem does not necessarily become any clearer. With the aid of reading, by contrast, one can both turn thinking into a pleasure and, with the help of books, carry out broader, clearer, and deeper reflection. However, not only is it not always a good thing to sit there daydreaming in silence, but burying one’s head in books is not always effective either. In particular, when someone reads with too…
philosophy scholarship freedom history
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2008年6月3日