标签：pluralism

Can You See a Rainbow Over the Sea?

Life & Notes2006.08.17
Can You See a Rainbow Over the Sea?
For some reason I suddenly thought of this question: what would a rainbow on the sea look like? Maybe it’s because I’ve been thinking about the sea a lot lately in my head (perhaps triggered by a netizen’s qmd, perhaps by an animated film I watched earlier, perhaps by some inner factor—I’m not sure), and then the day before yesterday I saw a pop-up QQ news item saying that a rainbow had appeared in downtown Beijing—that meteorological “spectacle” somehow brought them together in my mind. When people are bored, they sometimes close their eyes and imagine themselves placed in some beautiful scene; I suppose others do this too? Anyway, I…
everyday life faith pluralism nature
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2006年8月17日
Predetermination as Vast as the Sea, Freedom as Small as a Boat

Philosophy & Thought2006.07.16
Predetermination as Vast as the Sea, Freedom as Small as a Boat
For some reason, this sentence suddenly came to mind. “Predestination is like the sea, freedom like a small boat.” — This saying comes from Islamic doctrine. There was a period when I was quite fascinated by Islam—though of course I still retain a strong interest in it now. But as for its doctrines and tenets, I know very little; the only line I can really recite from memory is probably this one. Yet these ten characters already capture the relation between freedom and constraint very aptly, and with considerable depth. On the question of “fate,” this sentence can be understood in two ways: one is pessimistic—no matter how “apparently” free…
philosophy freedom pluralism Islam
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2006年7月16日
Some Casual Notes Before the World Cup Semifinals

Life & Notes2006.07.04
Some Casual Notes Before the World Cup Semifinals
Originally I had planned to write a few articles and read a few books during this period, but now basically all of that has come to nothing. Because the World Cup is simply too captivating, not only have I hardly missed a single post-exam match, I’ve also been too excited during the day to have any 마음 to read. Hehe, after all, the World Cup comes only once every four years; wasting a bit of time can be understood, can’t it? This World Cup has truly been exciting. Although the refereeing has been less than perfect, it is much better than last time. The traditional powerhouses have mostly played as…
everyday life pluralism
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2006年7月4日
Faith in Science and Finding a Wife

History of Science & Scholarship2006.06.26
Faith in Science and Finding a Wife
If there is someone who absolutely refuses to get a wife, believing women are like snakes and scorpions and cannot be approached, how should we try to persuade him? First, we should make one thing clear: everyone is entitled to his or her own views and convictions. If a genuine conversation is impossible, then we should simply respect one another; there is no truth that says one must definitely get a wife. But there is no harm in trying to talk him around, is there? If persuasion fails, then let it be. The single camp’s argument is this: a wife is not indispensable to a good life. A single man…
science faith value human nature
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2006年6月26日
The Thinker Fixated on Expectation

History of Science & Scholarship2006.03.24
The Thinker Fixated on Expectation
I do not reject a theory because its conclusion is absurd. What must be despised is its attitude and manner of expression. Some time ago I read a younger schoolmate’s article on Confucius; now I am reading a younger schoolmate’s so-called “paper” on “desire studies.” Some articles are unbearable, but I want everyone to know that at present I explicitly hold a pluralist position. The reason I reject some things is not because their views are “extreme.” It does not matter if the views are extreme; others can refute them, and different views can be set side by side in contest. However, some people are also extreme in attitude, imagining…
philosophy China scholarship discussion
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2006年3月24日
A Scientific Explanation of Rainbows

History of Science & Scholarship2006.03.15
A Scientific Explanation of Rainbows
A Simple Explanation Excerpted from Baidu Zhidao: http://zhidao.baidu.com/question/4311857.html A rainbow is formed because sunlight strikes small nearly spherical water droplets in the air, causing dispersion and reflection. When sunlight enters a water droplet, it simultaneously enters at different angles and is also reflected within the droplet at different angles. Of these, reflection at angles of 40 to 42 degrees is the strongest, producing the rainbow we see. In producing this reflection, sunlight first undergoes one refraction as it enters the droplet, then reflects off the back of the droplet, and finally undergoes another refraction as it leaves the droplet. Because water disperses light, the refractive indices for light of…
science pluralism scientific explanation
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2006年3月15日
Noya Keiichi: “Kuhn—Paradigm”

History of Science & Scholarship2006.02.09
Noya Keiichi: “Kuhn—Paradigm”
[Japanese] Noya Keiichi: “Kuhn—Paradigm,” translated by Bi Xiaohui, proofread by Chen Huabei, Hebei Education Publishing House, January 2002 There are some books that one must read, cannot not read, books it is impossible to imagine not reading; for me, Kuhn’s The Structure of Scientific Revolutions is a typical example. And yet I seem to have this lazy habit: since I will have to read it sooner or later, there is no harm in reading it a little later. And so, dragging it on, I still haven’t read it. Next semester I will officially begin studying philosophy of science, and the books that must be read have finally become impossible to…
book reading notes philosophy of science Scientific Revolution
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2006年2月9日
Why I Chose Philosophy of Science

Life & Notes2005.12.29
Why I Chose Philosophy of Science
This was also a topic discussed with ZW last night. Q: Why is philosophy of science, unlike philosophy of history, political philosophy, and so on, able to become an independent second-level discipline? A: The philosophy of science became an independent second-level discipline for both historical and contemporary reasons. The historical reason is that philosophy of science was originally what was called “dialectics of nature”; in that era, it was an attempt to provide methodological “guidance” for science, and this is an institutional arrangement left over from history. The contemporary reason is this: ours is precisely the age of so-called “science and technology”; almost all the problems this age faces—questions of…
history of science philosophy of science autobiography pluralism
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2005年12月29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
On Looking Down from on High

Life & Notes2005.07.31
On Looking Down from on High
Recently I’ve been thinking a lot: sometimes even I can’t stand myself. But there’s nothing to be done about it. Three or five years ago, many of my ideas were, one should say, about the same as those of ordinary people in society. And I myself have been growing; looking back now, some of the things I used to think really were childish. But the worse luck is that I’ll keep on growing. So my growth has practically become a symbol of the widening gap between my thinking and that of ordinary people, meaning that the depth of my thought will never again be able to return to the level…
philosophy everyday life freedom pluralism
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2005年7月31日