标签：philosophy

Zhao Tingyang: “On Possible Life”

Philosophy & Thought2006.01.23
Zhao Tingyang: “On Possible Life”
Zhao Tingyang: “On Possible Life—A Theory Concerning Happiness and Justice,” Renmin University of China Press, July 2004 I originally bought this book because I was drawn to its title—I happened to be thinking about some questions concerning what ethics is, and “On Possible Life” seemed able to express my own view of ethics, which instantly brightened my eyes. But after reading it, I found that although Zhao Tingyang’s book is indeed a monograph on ethics, his understanding of “possible life” is very different from what I had imagined. Zhao Tingyang’s book is still quite interesting. I saw that Ji Xianlin and Li Zehou gave it rather high praise, but after…
philosophy book reading notes
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2006年1月23日
Cao Tianyuan (Capo): “Does God Play Dice? — A History of Quantum Physics”

History of Science & Scholarship2006.01.16
Cao Tianyuan (Capo): “Does God Play Dice? — A History of Quantum Physics”
Cao Tianyuan (Capo): “Does God Play Dice?—A History of Quantum Physics,” Liaoning Education Publishing House, January 2006 Taking a hard-seat train home is really quite nice. I slept for six hours, read for six hours, and the whole night passed in a rather fulfilling way. That night I happened to finish this idle read. I have always not read popular science books on the cutting edge when they’re written by Chinese authors, but this one was an exception. What attracted me was the advertising copy on the cover: “A popular science book of super influence, hailed as ‘China’s A Brief History of Time’; strongly recommended by Dong Guangbi, Jiang Xiaoyuan,…
philosophy book reading notes quantum mechanics
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2006年1月16日
A fortunate chat with Professor Li Deshun

Life & Notes2006.01.14
A fortunate chat with Professor Li Deshun
Alas, I’m so tired today, I won’t record it…… Latest comments Me 2006-01-14 21:52:45 [reply] Just jot down a few odds and ends: We were told to assemble at nine in the morning. I wasn’t properly awake; ZW had a nosebleed; CG sprained his wrist. It seemed everyone was having a pretty rough time. LY overslept; at first, when we texted and called, he didn’t respond at all, and I even thought something had happened to him, like he had chipped a front tooth or something. In the end, we confirmed it was because he had stayed up all night and only gone to sleep at six. We didn’t bring…
philosophy everyday life Kant Confucius
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2006年1月14日
I Am a Realistic Idealist, or an Ideal Realist (A Supplement to the Previous Essay and the Debate It Sparked)

Life & Notes2006.01.07
I Am a Realistic Idealist, or an Ideal Realist (A Supplement to the Previous Essay and the Debate It Sparked)
I just debated with ZW for more than an hour. It’s already started to have a bit of the flavor of “directing the realm from the mountaintop” (just kidding—don’t take it seriously), and although I did get something out of it, I’m exhausted. Because my personal political views are very easy to misunderstand—easy to mistake for “counterrevolutionary” or “fool-the-masses”—but perhaps it’s not a misunderstanding after all. If revolution is understood as a revolution against China as it exists in reality, then I am a resolute “counterrevolutionary.” Of course, someone may say: as social development reaches a certain stage, there is always the possibility that revolution will become necessary; so am…
philosophy faith autobiography politics
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2006年1月7日
Two Marxist-Philosophy Short-Answer Questions I Didn’t Want to Answer by the Book + A Supplement to Short Answer Question 5 in Marxist Philosophy (Part II)

Philosophy & Thought2006.01.05
Two Marxist-Philosophy Short-Answer Questions I Didn’t Want to Answer by the Book + A Supplement to Short Answer Question 5 in Marxist Philosophy (Part II)
1．What is the dialectical view of negation? Illustrate it with the attitude one should take toward cultural tradition. First let us look at what the dialectical view of negation is not: In The Poverty of Philosophy, Marx satirized Proudhon’s vulgar use of dialectics. Marx said, “Let us see what Monsieur Proudhon has made of Hegel’s dialectic when he applies it to his economic theory… Monsieur Proudhon thinks that the good and the bad sides, the advantages and the disadvantages, together make up the contradiction inherent in every economic category. What needs to be done is to preserve the good side and eliminate the bad side.” —What we see here is…
philosophy book reading culture notes
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2006年1月5日
What Do I “Want” to Do?

Life & Notes2006.01.03
What Do I “Want” to Do?
Heaven knows how I still had the leisure to write an essay during final-exam season. Contemporary politics and economics have already been smashed to pieces, tomorrow’s English is hopeless too, and I can’t even finish reading Chinese philosophy…… Sigh. But today during a group chat CG mentioned that he wanted to “bring social, political, and economic studies into one coherent whole,” of course just as casual chatter, but it made me think of some questions. Someone once shouted the slogan “bringing Chinese, Western, and Marxist thought into one coherent whole,” and very soon someone else coined the matching line, “boasting of smashing through ancient and modern cattle.” To shout about…
philosophy everyday life knowledge pursuit
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2006年1月3日
Keep a Proper Mindset!

Life & Notes2005.12.31
Keep a Proper Mindset!
Thanks to Chong-ge for the criticism. First of all, there is indeed a problem with my writing style. If all my articles were posted on some philosophy forum, then I would not really be all that different from the “folk philosophers,” and so now it really is necessary to give serious attention to the problem of style. In the final analysis, the problem of style is still a problem of attitude. I do indeed need to seriously reflect on whether I have truly put “humility” into practice rather than leaving it at the level of words. I believe that my experience under the stars arises from the heart, and therefore…
philosophy everyday life folk philosophy
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2005年12月31日
Philosophy’s Critical Spirit and the “Critical” Spirit of Folk Philosophy

History of Science & Scholarship2005.12.28
Philosophy’s Critical Spirit and the “Critical” Spirit of Folk Philosophy
Philosophy is the most meticulous about criticism and questioning. Every great thinker possesses a strong sense of skepticism and a critical spirit. Marx said, “doubt everything,” and Kant also carried out a comprehensive critique of traditional metaphysics in three massive volumes; Mr. Lu Xun, meanwhile, thoroughly exposed the inferiority of the Chinese national character… Many people find this immensely satisfying and gratifying; criticism, exposure, nitpicking—these became a kind of fashion, and “cursing and swearing at every turn” became trendy… Someone says: criticism is always a good thing, isn’t critique the most important philosophical spirit of all? Little do they know that this critique is not that critique; the so-called “critique”…
philosophy China scholarship tradition
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2005年12月28日
On the Attitude Toward “Chinese Traditional Values” and “Western Modern Values”

Culture & Public Commentary2005.12.22
On the Attitude Toward “Chinese Traditional Values” and “Western Modern Values”
Modern society, especially contemporary Chinese society, is marked by one outstanding predicament: a crisis of faith, that is, a loss of values. To say that values have been lost is entirely different from saying that values have become “pluralized.” The pluralization of values is a good thing, but the problem is that people’s values today are not richer or more varied; rather, they are confused, depleted, and full of blank spaces. In modern times, in the industrial era and even the information age, the earth has become smaller and smaller, yet the distance between people has become greater and greater; the number of species humans recognize is greater than at…
philosophy culture China tradition
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2005年12月22日
The Difference Between Me and Dogmatism or Relativism—Please Pay Attention to the Basis of All My Arguments

Life & Notes2005.12.20
The Difference Between Me and Dogmatism or Relativism—Please Pay Attention to the Basis of All My Arguments
Just by reading those essays I’ve posted on my blog, one might feel that I have a tendency toward dogmatism. I admit that my writing is indeed apt to give rise to the misunderstanding that I am dogmatic and overestimate my own abilities; in fact, I myself became aware of this feeling, and that is what gave rise to the lament in the previous post about arrogance and humility. But I am fundamentally different from dogmatists, especially those so-called “folk philosophers”! To understand this, first do not forget the basis on which I proceed in any discussion—I never hope to persuade others; while firmly believing in my own views, I…
philosophy autobiography value discussion
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2005年12月20日