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Selected

A series is a long thread across the topics, arranged in the order that reads best: start with the first piece. A column is a serial — a course, a salon, a regular pick — kept in running order.

10 series · 211 posts11 columnsKey pieces by topic

AI & Scholarship

Philosophy of Technology & AI12 posts

When writing, research, and even peer review can be generated, what is left of scholarship and teaching? An ongoing inquiry into AI and the making of knowledge.

Read in this order

  1. 1If Scholars Don’t Use AI, That Counts as Academic Corruption
  2. 2Universities that prohibit students from using AI to write papers should be dissolved immediately
  3. 3The Real Crisis in Academia Is Not That AI Can Write Papers, but That We Only Know How to Recognize Titles—Hu Yilin on How to Make Knowledge Subject to Examination Again
  4. 4Can General Education Outmaneuver the Majors? — A Loose Talk from Course Assessment Methods to ChatGPT
  5. 5Stop Asking Whether It Was Written by AI; First Ask Whether It’s Any Good
  6. 6“Big Questions” Are Once Again Becoming Highly Controversial in the Present #”Xinrui Weekly” 2025 Year-End Special, 09
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AI & the Free Society

Philosophy of Technology & AI19 posts

Capabilities may be open; actions must have bounds. AI regulation, platform responsibility, digital identity, work and its rewards: setting the rules once intelligent machines enter society, always with individual freedom as the point.

Read in this order

  1. 1Put a Leash on AI, Not Pull Its Teeth — On Agent Safety: Capabilities Can Be Open, but Actions Must Be Bounded
  2. 2AI Regulation Must Not Become a New Despotism in the Technological Age
  3. 3Let Despotism Stop at the Factory Gate—On Anthropic’s AI Safety Politics
  4. 4Unemployment or Liberation? Artificial Intelligence’s Dual Revolution
  5. 5Distribution According to Enjoyment: How to Break the Logic of Involution in the Age of Artificial Intelligence
  6. 6Accelerationism Is Not Liberatory Enough; Only by Combining It with Web3 Can AI’s Potential Be Unleashed
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Setting a Mind for AI

Philosophy & Thought11 posts

Rather than ask whether AI has a mind, ask how we might give it one. From AlphaGo and technical intentionality to a broad learning of the mind, and experiments in doing philosophy with ChatGPT.

Read in this order

  1. 1From “Whether There Is a Mind” to “How to Establish the Mind” — The Broader Question of Heart-Mind Studies in the Age of Artificial Intelligence
  2. 2A Loose Phenomenological Discussion of “Artificial Intelligence”
  3. 3The knife really is about to fly up and cut people: Artificial Intelligence and the Problem of Technical Intentionality
  4. 4Why Fear Artificial Intelligence? — Some Musings on AlphaGo
  5. 5In the Age of AI, What Is Philosophy For?
  6. 6AI, Freedom, and the Formation of the Self
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Phenomenology & Heidegger

Philosophy & Thought27 posts

From Husserl to Heidegger, from time-consciousness to the world of technology — a phenomenological thread of reading that starts with four sets of notes.

Read in this order

  1. 1The Path to “Authenticity”—On the Intent of Being and Time
  2. 2Theses on Media Ontology
  3. 3Was Heidegger a Technological Pessimist?
  4. 4AR Glasses and the “Brain in a Vat”
  5. 5Personality Philosophy vs. Propositional Philosophy: On the Inevitability of the Decline of Continental Philosophy and the Immortality of Its Significance
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History of Science & Technology

History of Science & Scholarship25 posts

How science and technology became what they are: the Scientific Revolution, a general history of technology, and how such histories are written.

Read in this order

  1. 1What, Exactly, Is the Scientific Revolution?
  2. 2Printing, Natural History, and the Birth of Modern Science
  3. 3Obsolete Wisdom (Preface to Fifteen Lectures on the General History of Science)
  4. 4An Outline of the General History of Technology
  5. 5On the Industrial Revolution (I): Watt’s Kettle: Myth and Reality
  6. 6History of Science as a Nature Reserve—A Darwinian View of Science
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Museums & Science Communication

History of Science & Scholarship15 posts

Popular science is not the delivery of conclusions. From the plight of science popularisation and China’s science literacy benchmark to object biographies, science centres and “please do not touch”: how science meets the public.

Read in this order

  1. 1Please Touch, Please Do Not Touch: Hands in the Museum
  2. 2Museums in a Changing Society
  3. 3The whole world has erupted into a shouting match—what right does a museum have to step in and play peacemaker?
  4. 4The Biography of Objects: Methods and Significance in the History of Scientific Instruments
  5. 5Science Popularization Should Stand on the Opposite Side of “Innovation”
  6. 6The Meaning of “Conflation”: How the Public Can Participate in Scientific Communication
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Enlightenment & the Spirit of Freedom

Culture & Public Commentary29 posts

Do the people have a right to ignorance? Twenty years of reflection on enlightenment, speech, and the free order.

Read in this order

  1. 1Do the People Have the Right to Be Ignorant? — With a Discussion of Enlightenment and Unconcealment
  2. 2Arendt Reading Notes
  3. 3Philosophical Ramblings [Episode 1]: Freedom Is Like Treating Someone to a Meal
  4. 4Freedom of Speech and Social Media
  5. 5Choosing Peking University, Taking on Freedom
Open the whole set (29)

Chinese Civilization & the Way of Chinese

Culture & Public Commentary17 posts

From traditional views of humanity and nature to Chinese characters on the blockchain: selected essays on Chinese cultural politics.

Read in this order

  1. 1The View of Humanity and Nature in Traditional Chinese Philosophy
  2. 2“The Kingly Way” — The Road to the Supreme Good
  3. 3“It Must Be Rectification of Names” — Politics, History, and Science
  4. 4Huawendao White Paper, Version 2.1.1
  5. 5The Possibility of the Revival of Chinese Traditional Culture in Web3
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Web3 & Bitcoin

Web3 & Cypherpunks49 posts

From the Bitcoin white paper to DAO experiments: the political philosophy of money, consensus, and digital communities.

Read in this order

  1. 1Bitcoin: The Nature of Money
  2. 2Bitcoin: The Disappearance of the State
  3. 3Why Doesn’t Bitcoin Fit Gresham’s Law (Bad Money Drives Out Good)?
  4. 4From BTC to NFT: From Wealth to Power
  5. 5Why PoS Ethereum Cannot Become a Base Currency
  6. 6The Great Blockchain of Being—Decentralized Philosophy in This Age (An Introduction to Blockchain Philosophy)
Open the whole set (49)

Singapore & Everyday Life

Life & Notes7 posts

Migration, the city, raising a child and the everyday: a record of resettling a life in Singapore.

Read in this order

  1. 1The Street Is Not a Tourist Attraction—Afterword to I, My Singapore, My Street, My Walks
  2. 2Encrypted Flight Vol. 11 | Will Tsinghua People Who Have Gone Out Dream of a Bitcoin-Standard World? An Interview with Hu Yilin
  3. 3Freedom is the root, plurality is the end; one cannot sacrifice freedom in order to protect plurality
  4. 4A Pluralistic Society Cannot Tolerate Everything—On Singapore’s Integration Courses and the Boundaries of Pluralism
  5. 5From “Speak Mandarin” to “Preserve Dialects”: Singapore’s Language Policy Has Reached the Point of Shifting Gears
  6. 6The Philosophy of Raising Children (I): How to Reason with Children
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Columns

Serials and recurring formats, in running order; the ones still going come first.

2 postsThe Philosophy of Raising Children2026General questions, by way of raising a daughter. A series begun in 2026.24 postsAI Interviews2026Commentary as an interview: a news story, questions put to the author by an AI, and the conversation written up. Begun in 2026.4 postsOn VR2018–2022Philosophy found while playing VR games: immersion, kinaesthesia, sound and touch, and the sensory style of the metaverse.8 postsClassic Readings in Philosophy of Science2017–2018A graduate reading course at Tsinghua: the plan, the opening lecture and the students’ notes after class.6 postsHow Technology Shapes Our Daily Lives2017A summer course given at the 706 Youth Space in 2017 that follows an ordinary day: getting up, breakfast, the toilet, the classroom.20 postsLectures on the General History of Science2014–2016The lectures of the spring 2015 course on the general history of science, from the outline to the closing summary, later made into the book Outdated Wisdom.13 postsPhilosophy Talk2006–2015Philosophy told the way a storyteller talks in a teahouse: big words and jargon brought back into everyday life.47 postsThis Issue’s Music2007–2011From 2007 to 2011, a piece of music every few days: Bach, the guqin, anime themes and game soundtracks.5 postsWinter Vacation Miscellany2010Five essays from the 2010 winter break: modernity, relativism, will and responsibility, the Green Dam filter, love.33 postsXindao Salon2007–2010A café philosophy salon held every Saturday at Xindao from February 2009 to January 2010, with notes from each meeting.10 postsKeke Forum2007–2008Notes and arguments from the Keke Forum, the history and philosophy of science lectures at Peking University, 2007–2008.

Key pieces in every topic

A handful of pieces that best show what each topic is about.

Philosophy & Thought

  1. Personality Philosophy vs. Propositional Philosophy: On the Inevitability of the Decline of Continental Philosophy and the Immortality of Its Significance
  2. From “Whether There Is a Mind” to “How to Establish the Mind” — The Broader Question of Heart-Mind Studies in the Age of Artificial Intelligence
  3. The Path to “Authenticity”—On the Intent of Being and Time
  4. Negative Ontology
  5. Human-Centricity or Humble Solipsism? — A Discussion of Whether Heidegger’s Philosophy Is a Philosophy of Subjectivity
  6. How to Be a Punk Philosopher

History of Science & Scholarship

  1. History of Science as a Nature Reserve—A Darwinian View of Science
  2. Obsolete Wisdom (Preface to Fifteen Lectures on the General History of Science)
  3. What, Exactly, Is the Scientific Revolution?
  4. Printing, Natural History, and the Birth of Modern Science
  5. The Biography of Objects: Methods and Significance in the History of Scientific Instruments
  6. The Structure of the Historiographical Revolution — An Introduction to The Structure of Scientific Revolutions

Culture & Public Commentary

  1. Arendt Reading Notes
  2. Do the People Have the Right to Be Ignorant? — With a Discussion of Enlightenment and Unconcealment
  3. Reviving the Culture of the Court Historian——The Institution of the Court Historian as a Religious System
  4. In Praise of “Rumors”
  5. From Melamine to Thesis Plagiarism Checks: A Completely Meaningless Detection-and-Evasion Battle
  6. Can a Screen Change the Fate of Education?

Philosophy of Technology & AI

  1. The Definition of “Technology” — A Means to an End, or Something That Can Be Learned?
  2. Was Heidegger a Technological Pessimist?
  3. Why Fear Artificial Intelligence? — Some Musings on AlphaGo
  4. Unemployment or Liberation? Artificial Intelligence’s Dual Revolution
  5. If Scholars Don’t Use AI, That Counts as Academic Corruption
  6. Put a Leash on AI, Not Pull Its Teeth — On Agent Safety: Capabilities Can Be Open, but Actions Must Be Bounded

Web3 & Cypherpunks

  1. Bitcoin: The Nature of Money
  2. Bitcoin: The Disappearance of the State
  3. From BTC to NFT: From Wealth to Power
  4. Why PoS Ethereum Cannot Become a Base Currency
  5. Immortality: The Intrinsic Connection Between Transhumanism and Web3
  6. The Great Blockchain of Being—Decentralized Philosophy in This Age (An Introduction to Blockchain Philosophy)

Teaching & Courses

  1. On Writing Papers — Summary of the “Introduction to Academic Research” Course
  2. On Plagiarism (A Zero Without Appeal and Unsparing Mockery)
  3. Final Exam Paper for General History of Technology
  4. What Kind of Assignment Does the Teacher Hope to See? — Reflections on Assigning the “General History of Technology” Assignment
  5. Lecture Notes on the General History of Science (Introduction)
  6. From Deep to Shallow—Summary of the Introduction to Philosophy of Technology Course

Life & Notes

  1. Philosophy of the Starry Sky
  2. Silent Wonder
  3. Hu Yilin’s Recruitment Notice [Expired]
  4. Can This Really Count as a General History? — The Publication of Extension of Man: A General History of Technology
  5. Heavenly Endowment
  6. The Street Is Not a Tourist Attraction—Afterword to I, My Singapore, My Street, My Walks

Site Matters

  1. Let me explain why this place is called “Suixuan”~
  2. Suixuan’s Second Anniversary Selected Essays
  3. My blog keeps crashing, and I have had enough — I am going to overhaul it completely. While I troubleshoot, the blog may look rather ugly.
  4. A Self-Account & Guide (2026 Edition)