标签：notes

[U.S.] Robert Fogelin: “Walking on the Tightrope of Reason”

Philosophy & Thought2007.09.12
[U.S.] Robert Fogelin: “Walking on the Tightrope of Reason”
[U.S.]Robert Fogelin: *Walking on the Tightrope of Reason—The Uncertain Life of Rational Animals*, translated by Chen Rongxia, New Star Press, first edition, January 2007, 27.00 yuan Pages1~2 As rational animals, we live in a world full of hidden perils. The universe in which we live is extraordinarily, almost unimaginably, complex. On this point, Einstein once commented: “God is subtle, but he is not intentionally so.” Yet if we consider the strangeness embodied in reports from the frontiers of science, the universe seems increasingly marvelous. However, this complexity and strangeness do not necessarily make the lives of us rational animals full of uncertainty; they merely make life arduous.A more urgent question…
book reading notes Kant reason
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2007年9月12日
[American] Leon Lederman and Dick Teresi: “The God Particle”

History of Science & Scholarship2007.09.07
[American] Leon Lederman and Dick Teresi: “The God Particle”
[US]Liang Lederman, Dick Teresi: The God Particle—If the Universe Is the Answer, What Is the Question?, translated by Mi Xijun, Gu Hongwei, Zhao Jianhui, and Chen Hongwei, proofread by Yin Chuanhong, Shanghai Science and Technology Education Press, December 2003, 33.5 yuan This book is one of the Gold Fleece series. At 400,000 characters, it is far too long for a popular science book; still, since it is a popular work by a Nobel Prize winner in physics, it is rare enough. The theme of the book is humankind’s quest for the “atom” (the basic element of the world), from Democritus, Newton, Dalton, all the way to modern physics. Of course,…
philosophy book reading notes history of science
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2007年9月7日
Zhao Lin: “Between God and Newton — A Collection of Zhao Lin’s Lectures (1)”

History of Science & Scholarship2007.08.31
Zhao Lin: “Between God and Newton — A Collection of Zhao Lin’s Lectures (1)”
Zhao Lin: “Between God and Newton—Zhao Lin Lecture Collection (1),” Dongfang Publishing House, May 2007, 21 yuan Zhao Lin is indeed quite good. I hear he has also appeared on the Lecture Room program; that kind of venue really ought to have more talks like this. This collection gathers lectures Zhao Lin delivered at universities around China. The audience was neither students in the philosophy department nor ordinary TV viewers, but rather people with a certain knowledge background who enjoy thinking through questions—or, to put it another way, ordinary university students. Taken as a whole, these talks are essentially popular introductions to philosophy and Christianity, the most elementary sort of…
philosophy book reading notes Christianity
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2007年8月31日
[U.S.] Paul Woodruff: “Reverence—A Forgotten Virtue” (Reverence) —★

Philosophy & Thought2007.08.29
[U.S.] Paul Woodruff: “Reverence—A Forgotten Virtue” (Reverence) —★
[US] Paul Woodruff: Reverence—A Forgotten Virtue, translated by Lin Bin and Ma Hongqi, Commercial Press, July 2007, 14 yuan—★ I personally highly recommend this book! The topic of this book is very much to my taste: “Reverence”—that is, what we have all along been talking about as “敬畏” (awe and reverence). The author discusses Reverence from the standpoint of virtue ethics—that is, from the perspective of what I have all along been calling virtue ethics—which is quite to the point, and says many things I have long wanted to say but have not yet said. I also very much agree with the author’s use of Reverence to interpret the Confucian…
book reading notes faith Confucianism
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2007年8月29日
James Lovelock: Gaia: A New Look at Life on Earth

History of Science & Scholarship2007.08.03
James Lovelock: Gaia: A New Look at Life on Earth
[English] James Lovelock: _Gaia: A New Look at Life on Earth_, translated by Xiao Xianjing and Fan Xiangdong, Shanghai People’s Publishing House, June 2007, 21 yuan Preface, page 1: The word “Gaia” comes from my friend and neighbor—the novelist William Golding. He believed that such an idea should be named after the earth goddess in ancient Greek mythology. Preface, pages 12–13: Ancient belief and modern knowledge fuse together in an awe-inspiring and exciting way. With this fusion, astronauts, with their own eyes, and we through television, witness Earth’s full splendor and charm as it appears against the backdrop of the blackness of space. Yet however intense this feeling may be,…
book reading notes faith environment
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2007年8月3日
The Mathematics Circle Series, Hunan Science and Technology Press, June 2007

History of Science & Scholarship2007.07.29
The Mathematics Circle Series, Hunan Science and Technology Press, June 2007
The Mathematics Circle series, Hunan Science and Technology Press, June 2007 ([U.S.] H. W. Eves: Mathematics Circle 1, Mathematics Circle 2, Mathematics Circle 3, translated by Li Yong, 32.5 yuan + 38.5 yuan + 38.5 yuan; [British] Marcus du Sautoy: The Music of the Primes, translated by Sun Weikun, 36 yuan; [U.S.] Edward Berger, Michael Starbird: Mathematical Jamboree, translated by Tang Lu and Fu Xue, 28 yuan) I happened to be in a state of mental excitement when I saw this series, and after casually flipping through a few pages of Mathematics Circle 2, I bought it. Now I feel somewhat regretful—this really is a distinctive kind of math storybook,…
book reading notes mathematics book review
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2007年7月29日
[Eng] Brendan Wilson: “A Brief Introduction to Philosophy”

Philosophy & Thought2007.07.28
[Eng] Brendan Wilson: “A Brief Introduction to Philosophy”
[English] Brendan Wilson: *A Brief Introduction to Philosophy*, translated by Weng Shaojun, Shanghai People's Publishing House, June 2007, 26 yuan Recently, a number of introductory books on philosophy and the history of philosophy have appeared on the market again. I have always been very interested in this kind of book. At the same time, perhaps I also hope to help later readers “verify” things a bit and improve my recommended reading list. Up to now, the introductory philosophy books I still place first are the three published by Guangxi Normal University Press—*The Tree of Philosophy*, *Big Questions*, and *An Introduction to Philosophy*—and this book has not surpassed those three. This…
philosophy book reading notes philosophy of science
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2007年7月28日
[U.S.] Dan Brown: Digital Fortress

Culture & Public Commentary2007.07.26
[U.S.] Dan Brown: Digital Fortress
[U.S.] Dan Brown: *Digital Fortress*, translated by Zhu Zhenwu, Zhao Yongjian, and Xin Yan, People’s Literature Publishing House, September 2004, 25 yuan I’ve been reading light books lately; the reference books I’d planned to read for my research paper, as well as the bilingual reading materials, haven’t even been started. One reason is that the long renovation has meant the boxed-up books have remained impossible to dig out, so I can only choose from these relatively easy-to-reach books. Of course, it also has to do with my own squandering of time—vacation must always be at least half wasted. Still, this vacation has been a happy one, my state has been…
book reading notes freedom United States
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2007年7月26日
Simon Critchley: “Hello, Humor”

Philosophy & Thought2007.07.25
Simon Critchley: “Hello, Humor”
[UK] Simon Critchley: *Hello, Humor*, translated by Liu Dongxin and Feng Tao, Guangxi Normal University Press, May 2007, 18 yuan The author’s opening words say, “To try to write a philosophy of humor is an impudent and arrogant act, and that act itself has become a joke.” Laughter requires the movement of a person’s whole body and countless nerves; “humor,” along with the making of humor and theories about humor, also engages nearly all of human capacities and forms of knowledge. Humor is the interweaving of sensibility and reason, a mixture of impulse, desire, silence, and reflection, the convergence of literature, poetry, and philosophy. Theoretical discussions of humor are a…
philosophy book reading notes psychology
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2007年7月25日
[U.S.] Robert M. Pirsig: “The World of Fathers and Sons” (Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance) — ☆

Culture & Public Commentary2007.07.23
[U.S.] Robert M. Pirsig: “The World of Fathers and Sons” (Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance) — ☆
[U.S.]Robert·M·Pirsig: “The World of Father and Son” (“Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance”), translated by Huang Xin, China Friendship Publishing Company, November 1998, 22.8 yuan——☆ I remember that there was a page in A History of Twentieth-Century Thought introducing this strange book. Because the introduction was so brief, apart from its strange title, I still hadn’t realized what was special about it. It was only after seeing Teacher Liu and Teacher Jiang recommend this The World of Father and Son that I learned this strange book had already been translated into Chinese! The translator was probably a literary translator and likely had little philosophical training; the translation problems are…
philosophy book reading notes philosophy of science
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2007年7月23日