标签：everyday life

How Technology Has Shaped Our Daily Lives: An Introduction

Teaching & Courses2017.08.02
How Technology Has Shaped Our Daily Lives: An Introduction
Last Saturday in Room 706 I gave the first lecture in the course series How Technology Shapes Our Everyday Life. The first lecture consisted of two parts: first, an introduction to the overall philosophical framework; second, the first case study. In the future, each class is planned to include one more case study, while the first half of the class will be mainly presentations and discussion led by students. The introduction consists of two parts, “working out the problem” and “method.” First, I casually took apart each word in the course title and discussed it at some length, bringing in some views and styles from philosophy of technology; second, I…
philosophy everyday life technology course
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2017年8月2日
Course Plan: How Technology Shapes Our Daily Lives

Teaching & Courses2017.07.05
Course Plan: How Technology Shapes Our Daily Lives
Again invited by 706 Youth Space, I am preparing to open a course during the summer vacation, starting in late July, once a week, for about 5 to 6 classes. They are experimenting with the “project-based learning” format. I don’t know it in depth; broadly speaking, it is nothing more than a course form centered on students, guided by questions, and distinguished by interactive discussion. I am also willing to explore a livelier teaching format. Know Thyself The course I plan to teach falls within the fields of the history of science and philosophy of technology. On the one hand, this field is extremely profound; on the other hand, its…
philosophy everyday life technology history
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2017年7月5日
In Memory of Professor Ye Xiushan

Life & Notes2016.09.10
In Memory of Professor Ye Xiushan
叶秀山老师has passed away. On the occasion of Teachers’ Day, I am writing a few words in remembrance. Teacher Ye and I had two layers of relationship. First, he was Teacher Wu’s advisor—in other words, my academic grand-teacher. The other layer was that Teacher Ye was the teacher for my first philosophy course in college, namely Introduction to Philosophy. The relationship of seniority did not give me much direct feeling; the image of Teacher Ye in my memory was mainly formed in that Introduction to Philosophy class. When I heard the sad news, what kept flashing through my mind was the scene of him pinching an orchid-finger gesture while reading Da~sein….
philosophy everyday life scholarship phenomenology
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2016年9月10日
“Our” Magazine, “Shared” Youth — A Commemorative Essay on “Gongqingyuan”

Life & Notes2016.07.11
“Our” Magazine, “Shared” Youth — A Commemorative Essay on “Gongqingyuan”
During my undergraduate years, I once served as the editor-in-chief of Peking University’s Department of Philosophy magazine *Gongqingyuan*, and I put out Issue 40; at that time, it happened to be the 15th year of *Gongqingyuan*. Later, on the occasion of the 20th anniversary, it was said that a commemorative issue was to be made, and I was invited to write a little text. This year is the 25th anniversary, and another commemorative issue is being prepared, so I, this senior alumnus, was dug out again for an interview, and was also asked to write whatever I liked. When faced with requests from younger classmates, I generally never refuse, and…
philosophy everyday life education Peking University
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2016年7月11日
What Does the Mobile Phone Have to Do with Cooking? — The One and the Many of Technology

AI & the Future of Technology2015.11.12
What Does the Mobile Phone Have to Do with Cooking? — The One and the Many of Technology
The previous post mentioned one of Wu’s core objections, namely, his view that science is singular, whereas technology is plural. At the time he gave an example: branches of science such as physics, chemistry, and biology ultimately promise that they can be reduced to a unified foundation, and therefore their historical development is also interconnected. But what about the relations among various technologies, such as between mobile phones and cooking technology? If various concrete technologies are mutually independent, then where does their unity in history come from? My brief reply at the time was this: the reason various technologies can be “unified” is that “life” is unified. And I also…
everyday life technology history of science media
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2015年11月12日
Philosophical Commentary and Quips [Column Introduction] Philosophy and Life

Philosophy & Thought2015.07.28
Philosophical Commentary and Quips [Column Introduction] Philosophy and Life
I have always used the “history-thought-poetry” classification system, corresponding to three kinds of textual form: reflection, record, and lyricism. This classification system is logically sound, but for me personally it is not very practical: some categories have especially many articles, while others remain in a state of abandonment year after year. Recently I have been thinking about building a classification system centered on “columns,” no longer subdividing things into specific directories. If you need to search, just use keywords. But we can also establish some “columns”; not every article has to belong to one. The articles under a column would be selected pieces or serialized pieces with a specific theme….
philosophy everyday life game philosophy talk
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2015年7月28日
Giving a Talk on the History of Science at Central China Normal University

Life & Notes2014.11.05
Giving a Talk on the History of Science at Central China Normal University
Last weekend I went to Wuhan to give a lecture on behalf of Teacher Wu. My audience was two dozen or so graduate students, who are being trained as reserve talent for the Hubei Science and Technology Museum. The required course I was to teach consists of three parts: the history of Chinese science and technology, the history of world science and technology, and the philosophy of technology. The part on the history of world science and technology had originally been assigned to Teacher Wu, but since he was abroad, I was sent to teach it. I lectured for a day and a half straight on Saturday and Sunday, twelve…
philosophy everyday life science history of science
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2014年11月5日
An Explanation Regarding Going to Teach a Public Class at 706 and the Strike

Life & Notes2013.05.28
An Explanation Regarding Going to Teach a Public Class at 706 and the Strike
A few weeks ago I went to 706 Youth Space to give three public lectures. The course was originally planned to have five sessions, but I decided not to continue with the last two. Any students who participated and would like to continue the exchange are welcome to stay in touch with me through the blog, Weibo, email, and so on. As for the background and aftermath of starting the course and the strike, let me explain here. I had not previously known much about 706 Youth Space. I went to give the lectures because I received an invitation from Zhou Ruixuan. I checked the organization’s positioning online—spontaneous pursuit of…
everyday life blog intellectuals ranting
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2013年5月28日
On Delayed Graduation and Looking for a Job

Life & Notes2013.03.21
On Delayed Graduation and Looking for a Job
Last time I was writing my Mumford paper, I posted a writing plan. Going by a pace of one chapter a month, it was obvious that I would only be able to finish the paper roughly after the summer vacation, and at the very least I wouldn’t be graduating until spring 2014. In other words, I have already decided to delay graduation by half a year. Although I also wanted to strive to finish my PhD in three years, I ultimately chose to postpone. This was something I had long anticipated, of course, but it is still worth explaining on the blog~ The reason for postponing is, first and foremost,…
everyday life scholarship education pursuit
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2013年3月21日
The First Weibo Post That Got Blocked~

Life & Notes2013.01.23
The First Weibo Post That Got Blocked~
My first Weibo post to get blocked~ So excited~ Gotta save an archive~ What got blocked was a repost, but the original post wasn’t blocked, and they just blocked me directly. Looks like it really was these two lines I posted that caught their eye. What I said was perfectly ordinary—why on earth was it blocked? Do they really think this sentence is threatening? In any case, being blocked is truly an honor; next time I’ll aim for a mute~
everyday life China social media Weibo
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2013年1月23日