标签：McLuhan

On NetEase Mail, Cookies, and Privacy in the Internet Age

AI & the Future of Technology2013.03.20
On NetEase Mail, Cookies, and Privacy in the Internet Age
(It’s been a long time since I last wrote an essay; this is a bit messy, but I’ll gradually restore the blog update frequency in the near future~) The recent 315 gala seems to have taken a heavy toll on many IT companies that did not advertise properly on CCTV. Apple has always been arrogant; you can criticize it for arrogance all you want, but this time NetEase has probably really fallen into trouble. As for the news media’s habit of reporting some negative information in a kind of campaign-style, entertainmentized, highly selective and biased manner, that behavior is contemptible. But in general I do not object to this kind…
technology media internet McLuhan
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2013年3月20日
The Mediality of “Natural Seeing”

AI & the Future of Technology2012.03.21
The Mediality of “Natural Seeing”
Originally, I had planned to put up this article after the proposal defense, but while writing it I realized that in fact it was nothing more than citing some things I had written before, so I shelved it. But today a troll came by my Theses on Media Ontology, which just happens to give me a good occasion to post this article as a response. In fact, this troll’s objection was similar to the question Professor Sun raised back then. Of course, Professor Sun always poses his questions haughtily but without losing decorum, whereas internet trolls are different. I very much welcome criticism and questioning, especially the sort Professor Sun…
technology media phenomenology McLuhan
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2012年3月21日
On the Final Essay Question in the General History of Science Course: “The Key Machine of the Industrial Age Was Not the Steam Engine but the Clock”

AI & the Future of Technology2011.12.23
On the Final Essay Question in the General History of Science Course: “The Key Machine of the Industrial Age Was Not the Steam Engine but the Clock”
This time, since the usual workload was increased substantially, the final exam was relatively easier. Apart from the traditional term-definition questions—which have been raised to 14—there was only one essay question. Counted toward the total score, the essay question was worth the equivalent of 12 points, so one might roughly say it was the fourth short paper. 2. Essay question (30 points): citations must be proper (if you cite at all); plagiarism is forbidden. Why is it said that “the key machine of the industrial age was not the steam engine but the clock” (Mumford)? This final short paper also required proper citation, but after all, since this was an…
technology Introduction to Philosophy of Technology McLuhan Wu Guosheng
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2011年12月23日
On Heidegger’s Thought on Technology

AI & the Future of Technology2011.06.29
On Heidegger’s Thought on Technology
The previous article was another piece written by hastily asking for reinforcements. On the one hand, that was indeed because I have not been diligent enough lately; on the other hand, I was also busy planning the proposal for my doctoral dissertation, eager to design the overall line of thought, and as a result I could not settle down to concentrate first on some specific issue. The earlier “experience report” was like this too, and so is this set of reading notes on Heidegger’s later thought. Although they are all written rather superficially and in a somewhat scattered way, they really do have to do with a certain strategy for…
technology media Heidegger environment
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2011年6月29日
The Distinctiveness of China’s Written Culture and Print Culture

AI & the Future of Technology2011.05.14
The Distinctiveness of China’s Written Culture and Print Culture
I often cite McLuhan, Walter Ong, and others on the progression from oral culture to written culture to print culture (see Media, Senses, Space-Time — A Preliminary Exploration of McLuhan’s Media Ontology), but they are basically talking within the context of Western languages. The development of writing there is basically a process of “pure oral speech — ideographic writing — consonantal alphabetic writing — vocalized alphabetic writing (from Greek onward) — alphabetic writing printed with movable type.” Certain Eastern scripts can also be fitted into this genealogy and understood in that way: for example, Arabic and Sanskrit are consonantal alphabetic scripts, and thus preserve context more strongly. However, Chinese writing…
technology China culture media
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2011年5月14日
[Draft] Several Issues in the Philosophy of Science from the Perspective of Media Ontology—Scientific Method, Causality, and Realism

History of Science & Scholarship2011.02.17
[Draft] Several Issues in the Philosophy of Science from the Perspective of Media Ontology—Scientific Method, Causality, and Realism
I had originally planned to write a paper that would re-interpret some issues in traditional philosophy of science from the perspective of media ontology (phenomenology). I tried to “translate” certain discussions in traditional philosophy of science from the standpoint of media theory, and thereby raise the questions anew. Roughly speaking, there were several lines of inquiry: first, realism (and so-called instrumentalism); second, causality and scientific explanation; third, scientific method and the demarcation of science. But in actual writing I dragged on for N long, and to this day still have nowhere to start. With the first report of the new term looming, I am frankly uneasy, so I decided to…
science media philosophy of science Heidegger
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2011年2月17日
Writing in the Internet Age—A Brief Discussion of the Intentional Structure of Electronic Media

AI & the Future of Technology2011.02.02
Writing in the Internet Age—A Brief Discussion of the Intentional Structure of Electronic Media
The new blog had been tinkered with for so long that it has finally come to a temporary rest, and I should also write something more serious to explain myself. But this so-called serious writing is not yet that paper I have kept putting off; I’ll deal with that paper properly after the New Year. For now, following the context of tidying up the blog, let me talk about some thoughts on the “network age.” The last class of Wu’s seminar last semester happened to touch on communication in the network age, and I happened to pick up this thread and speak from there. The issue of communication in the…
technology culture scholarship media
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2011年2月2日
A Travelogue of the Hailar Conference

History of Science & Scholarship2010.08.24
A Travelogue of the Hailar Conference
The much-noticed Fourth National Conference on Phenomenology and Philosophy of Technology had already passed several days earlier. Teacher Wu asked me to write up the conference record, but I kept putting pen to paper very late. On the one hand I was being lazy; on the other hand, it was also hard to know where to begin. Faced with so many papers and trying to review them one by one, the job really made my head spin… Although I have written records of forums and talks before, the KeKe Forum, for example, was basically just one lecture: an hour of presentation, an hour of discussion, with a commentator in between…
philosophy media Heidegger phenomenology
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2010年8月24日
Theses on Media Ontology

History of Science & Scholarship2010.08.09
Theses on Media Ontology
Abstract: As a philosophical program, media ontology points to a new philosophical line of thought whose origins lie in traditions associated with thinkers such as Heidegger and McLuhan. Media ontology develops its thinking around the everyday meaning of the concept of media, but it seeks to go beyond the everyday understanding of media as a neutral conduit for transmitting messages. Media, as the “extension of man,” also prompts us to rethink media as a way of understanding human nature. Media ontology implies an anthropology that transcends traditional dualism, and it is both a continuation and a surpassing of the Western classical philosophical tradition. Modern philosophy “discovered media,” but media ontology…
philosophy media Heidegger phenomenology
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2010年8月9日
Doctoral Research Plan (Media Phenomenology)

AI & the Future of Technology2010.04.13
Doctoral Research Plan (Media Phenomenology)
Following Professor Wu, the direction I am undoubtedly taking as my main focus in the doctoral stage is the philosophy of technology in phenomenology; more specifically, my research should be organized around the theme of “media phenomenology.” Under the theme of media phenomenology, my research can unfold from three angles, or in three ways. Depending on the progress of study and research over the next few years, the final doctoral dissertation will be confined to one of these angles and developed under an appropriate title. The themes and angles proposed in this research plan are merely lines of inquiry, or points of entry, for the research. This theme mainly involves…
technology media phenomenology McLuhan
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2010年4月13日