分类：History of Science & Scholarship

Kant’s Significance for the Philosophy of Science

History of Science & Scholarship2006.07.04
Kant’s Significance for the Philosophy of Science
My own view is that Kant’s philosophy has great heuristic significance for the philosophy of science, but among the group of philosophers of science who continue empiricism in the contemporary era, it has been widely neglected. Of course, Kant’s exalted place in the history of philosophy is something very few philosophers would dare to deny, and philosophers of science are no exception. In writings on the philosophy of science, Kant is still often mentioned. But the problem is this: nine times out of ten, when philosophers of science mention Kant, they refer only to his “transcendental theory.” It seems as though Kant’s contribution to the philosophy of science amounted to…
philosophy science philosophy of science Kant
阅读全文

2006年7月4日
A Classified Summary of Reference Works on Science and Religion

History of Science & Scholarship2006.06.26
A Classified Summary of Reference Works on Science and Religion
The method of collection was: 1. My own bookshop browsing over time. 2. Looking through the bibliographies and cited works of various relevant writings. 3. Searching keywords such as "science + religion," "science + faith," "science + God," "physics + religion," "evolution theory + religion," and so on, on the major online bookstores (such as Dangdang, Blues, Xidan Book Building, China Book Network, etc.). 4. Searching keywords such as "science + religion + bibliography/reference book" on Baidu. 5. Searching the online catalogs of major libraries, such as the libraries of Peking University, Tsinghua University, Fudan University, Xiamen University, and so on. 6. Consulting the Yearbooks of Social Science Publications for…
philosophy book reading notes history of science
阅读全文

2006年6月26日
Faith in Science and Finding a Wife

History of Science & Scholarship2006.06.26
Faith in Science and Finding a Wife
If there is someone who absolutely refuses to get a wife, believing women are like snakes and scorpions and cannot be approached, how should we try to persuade him? First, we should make one thing clear: everyone is entitled to his or her own views and convictions. If a genuine conversation is impossible, then we should simply respect one another; there is no truth that says one must definitely get a wife. But there is no harm in trying to talk him around, is there? If persuasion fails, then let it be. The single camp’s argument is this: a wife is not indispensable to a good life. A single man…
science faith value human nature
阅读全文

2006年6月26日
An Analysis of the “Sudden Drill Paradox”

History of Science & Scholarship2006.06.24
An Analysis of the “Sudden Drill Paradox”
An Analysis of the “Sudden Drills Paradox” Abstract: The “sudden drills paradox,” also called the “surprise exam paradox,” the “unexpected hanging paradox,” and so on, is briefly surveyed and analyzed in this article in non-technical language. I reexamine the reasoning premises and steps that may give rise to the paradox, and attempt to offer a way of understanding it. Keywords: sudden drills paradox exam paradox epistemic paradox contradiction Origin What was called the “sudden drill problem” was a puzzling question that had circulated for several years at the time. During the Second World War, the Swedish Broadcasting Corporation aired the following announcement: Within the coming week, there will be an…
mathematics paper logic paradox
阅读全文

2006年6月24日
Defending Science with Religion.

History of Science & Scholarship2006.06.22
Defending Science with Religion.
In a reply on Mr. Liu’s blog: http://blog.sina.com.cn/u/485ea879010003xs#comment For me, the objectivity and credibility of science are things I will certainly defend. One extremely naive reason for defending them is this: if science is not trustworthy and objective, then what is more trustworthy and objective? If there are things in the world that can be trusted, science is surely one of the best candidates—unless one believes that nothing in the world is reliable at all, in which case thoroughgoing relativism, skepticism, and nihilism are all unassailable. I am willing to defend science in a manner similar to Kant’s defense of religion—religion brings you hope; if not in religion, where else…
philosophy science faith religion
阅读全文

2006年6月22日
A Discussion of “Shuangfei” — Reposting an Earlier Article and Comments from Teacher Liu’s Blog

History of Science & Scholarship2006.06.22
A Discussion of “Shuangfei” — Reposting an Earlier Article and Comments from Teacher Liu’s Blog
The two posts contained nearly 10,000 Chinese characters of my own contributions—almost as much as the original text and all the other comments combined. Even I, reading it back, felt I had been far too presumptuous. Still, fortunately the teachers are all good people, so they should be able to indulge me. Although I don’t usually browse forums, being able to write a couple of comments on a blog while at the same time exchanging views with people I admire or look up to is a very pleasant feeling. The “double-negation” principle and examples http://blog.sina.com.cn/u/485ea879010003k7 2006-05-28 18:27:46 The “double-negation” principle and examples Liu Huajie “Correctness is neither sufficient nor necessary…
philosophy science philosophy of science Liu Huajie
阅读全文

2006年6月22日
A Tentative Account of the Problems Facing Contemporary Philosophy of Nature and Its Possible Directions of Development

History of Science & Scholarship2006.06.22
A Tentative Account of the Problems Facing Contemporary Philosophy of Nature and Its Possible Directions of Development
To try to expound the problems contemporary philosophy of nature faces and the directions in which it might develop — the essay question on the final exam in philosophy of nature. I’ll write a bit more about it when I have time in a few days. Sigh, this exam was really hard: ten term-definition questions: 1. In modern Chinese and Western languages, the word “nature” has two usages; what are they respectively? 2. Why did Plato think it was a misuse of terms to call the “sensible world” “nature”? 3. What is Aristotle’s topos? 4. What are Aristotle’s doctrine of the four causes and doctrine of the five elements? 5….
science Aristotle Christianity Newton
阅读全文

2006年6月22日
Richard Dawkins: The Blind Watchmaker, translated by Wang Delun, Chongqing Publishing House and Hainan Publishing House, May 2005

History of Science & Scholarship2006.06.21
Richard Dawkins: The Blind Watchmaker, translated by Wang Delun, Chongqing Publishing House and Hainan Publishing House, May 2005
Richard Dawkins: The Blind Watchmaker, translated by Wang Delun, Chongqing Publishing House, Hainan Publishing House, May 2005 Preface, p. 1 This book is founded on the belief that our own existence was once one of the most baffling mysteries. But now this mystery no longer exists, because Darwin and Wallace have solved it—though we still have to keep adding footnotes to their answer. The reason I wrote this book is that I am astonished that so many people seem not only unaware of the elegance and beauty of that answer; what is even harder for me to believe is that many people are not even aware that such a question…
book reading notes evolution life
阅读全文

2006年6月21日
How Can We Promote Technological Innovation?

History of Science & Scholarship2006.06.10
How Can We Promote Technological Innovation?
Just as a lightning strike is an extremely accidental event, hard to predict and grasp, people can nonetheless figure out what conditions make lightning more likely to occur. They can then install lightning rods and other facilities to channel possible strikes. Technological innovation is also unpredictable, but people can strive to create environmental conditions conducive to innovation, promote the emergence of innovation, and more effectively bring its effects into play. So how can we create a technological environment favorable to innovation? I think this first requires adhering to a certain “tolerant” attitude. A tolerant attitude applies to many issues; here I will begin with a preliminary discussion from the following…
science history of science scientific spirit scientific method
阅读全文

2006年6月10日
We Should Not Deny the Progress of Science

History of Science & Scholarship2006.06.09
We Should Not Deny the Progress of Science
I have by now basically established my position of pluralism, or, perhaps better put, moderate relativism; the best term for it may be perspectivism. However, just as in environmental ethics “misanthropes” are by no means any lovelier than “anthropocentrists,” relativists in the philosophy of science, if they go too far, are in my eyes even less lovable than dogmatic scientism. Some of the more militant forms of relativism even go so far as to deny scientific progress. In their eyes, science merely keeps jumping back and forth among incommensurable paradigms, and it is impossible to say whether it is approaching truth or not; thus it is also hard to say…
science philosophy of science Plato reason
阅读全文

2006年6月9日