Suixuan

Year: 2021

In the Age of Technology, What Use Is Philosophy? — On “An Introduction to Philosophy of Technology”

AI & the Future of Technology2021.06.07
In the Age of Technology, What Use Is Philosophy? — On “An Introduction to Philosophy of Technology”
My new book, An Introduction to the Philosophy of Technology (Tsinghua Series in the History and Philosophy of Science), was published by the Commercial Press in May 2021. Come to think of it, this seems to be the first original book in the Tsinghua Series in the History and Philosophy of Science over its two phases; the others are either revised reprints of books long since published, or works based on a doctoral dissertation or an English-language monograph. This Introduction to the Philosophy of Technology was written entirely during my time in the Department of the History of Science at Tsinghua. This is my sixth book, and one of the…
philosophy technology history of science history of technology
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2021年6月7日
A Few Recent Audio-Video Posts

History of Science & Scholarship2021.03.03
A Few Recent Audio-Video Posts
In general, for lectures, interviews, and the like, I’d prefer to wait until a written transcript comes out before reposting them to Suixuan. But recently some videos and audio recordings apparently won’t have written versions整理出来 by anyone, so I’m reposting them together here. 1. Reading Seminar of the General History of Science Curriculum Alliance, Mumford: A Guided Reading of Technics and Civilization (February 14, 2021) https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV12k4y1276t?p=40 This video talk is the one I most recommend. Mumford’s Technics and Civilization is extremely important, and my reading of it was also very carefully prepared. I tried to distill from Mumford’s thought a historiography of the history of technology as thought, opening up…
technology China history of technology Introduction to Philosophy of Technology
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2021年3月3日
Course Summary for A General History of Technology (Fall 2020)

Teaching & Courses2021.02.19
Course Summary for A General History of Technology (Fall 2020)
This is the fourth round of the course. This round was a little different from the previous three: the total number of class hours was about the same, but the original 16-week format of 2 class hours per week was changed to an 11-week format of 3 class hours per week. This scheduling was due to a small mistake I made when I first registered the course, but afterward I also decided to go with the flow and see what benefits this arrangement might have. There were indeed some benefits. First, the course ended off-peak, concluding a month earlier than most courses, which relatively speaking may have eased some of…
course history of technology General History of Technology machinery
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2021年2月19日
On “What Is Technology?”: An Interview with China Science Daily

Life & Notes2021.01.22
On “What Is Technology?”: An Interview with China Science Daily
Thanks to China Science Daily, which usually invites me to write book reviews; this time, since it was my own book, we simply did an interview. Zhang Wenjing did a very good job with both the interviewing and the editing—it’s just that the headline is a bit over the top (though there was nothing to be done about that). The finished piece can be found on ScienceNet; here I am posting my original written answers. First, could you talk about how the book What Is Technology came to be? In the opening sentence you say, “We are now in a ‘technological age.’” In a technological age, what is the background…
technology media history of technology knowledge
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2021年1月22日
Freedom of Speech and Social Media

Culture & Public Commentary2021.01.11
Freedom of Speech and Social Media
This article was written spontaneously, as a stream-of-consciousness piece prompted by my own feelings; it is shared only on Suixuan, and please do not reprint it. Trump’s social media accounts being banned set off a discussion about freedom of speech. Aside from the arguments that have never reached consensus, today’s discussions of freedom of speech do in fact involve some new conditions that have only emerged in the past decade or so. This is the rise of large social media websites. They have carved out an autonomous space in the network world, and in many cases have replaced what used to be understood as public space. Whether, and how, the…
culture freedom media commentary
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2021年1月11日
Bitcoin: Is There Little Time Left for Poor Students?

Web3 & Cypherpunks2021.01.08
Bitcoin: Is There Little Time Left for Poor Students?
“Bitcoin is just a chain-letter pyramid scheme. The state banned it long ago. This thing has no credit backing, nor is it legal tender, and the central bank strictly forbids financial institutions from participating. I myself bought some before, but luckily I came to my senses long ago and sold it all. Not only did I not make money, I even lost a bit—you tell me if that’s infuriating or not. I advise you not to touch it either. Don’t be a fool and end up as the sucker who takes the bag from the Americans; that stuff was all designed by them to rip off the Chinese.” —The above…
technology Web3 Bitcoin blockchain
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2021年1月8日
“Leisure” as “Responsibility” — Why Must We Critique Capitalism?

Culture & Public Commentary2021.01.05
“Leisure” as “Responsibility” — Why Must We Critique Capitalism?
Recently Pinduoduo has once again made the topic of 996 hot, and I said: “Whether overtime is reasonable, whether it is legal, how it should be compensated, how it should be punished—let those questions be set aside for the moment. In any case, we should first make one thing clear: whether or not one works overtime has nothing to do with ‘personal striving.’ Because after I get off work I can study like mad, I can take on side jobs like mad, I can devote myself to public welfare… There are plenty of worthwhile causes to struggle for. To limit a person to struggling only for one boss is not…
culture freedom commentary Marx
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2021年1月5日