标签：politics

Recollecting “Political Astronomy”

Life & Notes2009.06.23
Recollecting “Political Astronomy”
Jiang Xiaoyuan’s concept. He says that astronomy in ancient China served politics: anomalous changes in the heavens corresponded to anomalous changes among human affairs, especially changes in dynasties. In particular, major events like solar eclipses signaled crisis or moral failure. The emperor had to hurry to examine himself, offer sacrifices and reports to Heaven, and even grant a general amnesty, and so on. Modern people know that celestial phenomena are objective facts; one can even predict the time of a solar eclipse millions of years in advance. How, then, could they possibly be linked to the fortunes of human dynasties? And worshipping Heaven is only an empty ritual—what meaning could…
everyday life tradition politics faith
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2009年6月23日
Miscellaneous Notes from Today’s Xindao Salon 09-04-25

Life & Notes2009.04.25
Miscellaneous Notes from Today’s Xindao Salon 09-04-25
Given that not many people came today and I’ve had a pretty heavy load these past two days = =, I won’t write much…… In the afternoon and evening, one person came each time, but the exchanges both seemed to feel pretty good. In the afternoon we discussed political philosophy, and in the evening we talked about aesthetics—both fields where I am extremely weak and am just about to start wading into, so what I said seemed rather superficial, but by and large the direction was still fairly on target, right? I’ll keep honing myself slowly…… Spotted here today: dr/xxj Next time I’ll try to proactively drag in a few…
philosophy everyday life scholarship politics
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2009年4月25日
Keke Forum Lecture 61: Zhang Qiqun, A Preliminary Exploration of the Turn from Astronomy to Astrology in Ancient China—Also on Jiang Xiaoyuan’s Claim of “Political Astronomy,” Which Does Not Hold Up

History of Science & Scholarship2008.11.28
Keke Forum Lecture 61: Zhang Qiqun, A Preliminary Exploration of the Turn from Astronomy to Astrology in Ancient China—Also on Jiang Xiaoyuan’s Claim of “Political Astronomy,” Which Does Not Hold Up
Peking University Forum on the History and Philosophy of Science, Lecture 61 Time: Friday, November 28, 2008, 3:00–5:00 p.m. Venue: Academic Lecture Hall, Center for Science and Society, Chengze Garden Speaker: Professor Zhang Qiqun (Department of Philosophy, Peking University) Topic: A Preliminary Exploration of the Shift from Ancient Chinese Astronomy to Astrology—Also on Why Jiang Xiaoyuan’s Theory of “Political Astronomy” Does Not Hold http://hps.phil.pku.edu.cn/bbs/read.php?tid=838&page=e#a In my previous comment I took a little jab at Teacher Jiang, and I felt quite apprehensive about it; just then, by chance, I was immediately given an opportunity for “balance,” so I wrote a bit more than usual. Sorry, I forgot to bring my camera…
China science politics astronomy
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2008年11月28日
———————————Draw a dividing line———————————

Site Matters2008.09.11
———————————Draw a dividing line———————————
Hu Tianding posted on 2008-09-11 00:34:04 Tomorrow marks a new beginning. Time flies like an arrow, and the 9/11 from seven years ago has somehow become so distant, the 9/11 from two years ago is also gradually receding into the distance, but my watch is still by my side, arriving ahead of time for the appointment, don’t act on impulse, democracy. September 11 2008
politics website democracy time
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2008年9月11日
Violent Sanctions Are a Helpless Compensation for the Limits of Reason

Culture & Public Commentary2008.09.09
Violent Sanctions Are a Helpless Compensation for the Limits of Reason
I once said, “Violent revolution is unreasonable”—because “violence” is always non-rational, and revolution is always illegal. Yet this gives rise to a still more severe problem: if violence may be lawful, then how is the rationality of law possible? We know that laws are made by the government (whether that so-called government represents God, the emperor, or all citizens), and the implementation of law often has to appeal to violence. It is hard to imagine a rule-of-law society maintained without violent institutions such as police and prisons. Even if a social order established without bodily violent sanctions is at least conceivable in theory, once a public “law” is instituted, it…
culture politics public sphere reason
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2008年9月9日
Secluding Myself and Shutting Down the Blog

Site Matters2008.02.22
Secluding Myself and Shutting Down the Blog
As of today (such a 222 kind of day), the blog is under lock and key. The time of reopening is undecided. In any case, let everyone first welcome the Olympic Games. Comment replies huyong 2008-06-25 00:47:56 [reply] Very envious; I very much hope to join you all, and long to receive help! Gu Du 2008-03-29 21:30:47 [reply] I don’t know the situation in Peking University’s Marxist philosophy, so I can’t make a judgment. Personally, I still don’t see much of a future for the Marxist philosophy circles in China; Marxist philosophy anywhere isn’t going to be all that great. The key is simply which advisor you end…
scholarship politics website
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2008年2月22日
On “Feyerabend Quotations”

History of Science & Scholarship2008.01.22
On “Feyerabend Quotations”
Xinzhai Lao Jiang Quotations from Feyerabend I’m a fanatical admirer of Feyerabend, so from now on I’ll post some of the old gentleman’s quotations whenever I have nothing better to do: A free society is one in which all traditions have equal rights and equal opportunities to enter the centers of power (this differs from the usual definition: that everyone has equal rights to enter the positions defined by one special tradition—namely, the tradition of Western science and rationalism). A tradition acquires these rights not because it is important to outsiders, but because it is meaningful in the lives of those who participate in that tradition. Science in a Free…
philosophy science freedom politics
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2008年1月22日
The Politics and Jurisprudence Behind the Philosophy of Science

History of Science & Scholarship2008.01.21
The Politics and Jurisprudence Behind the Philosophy of Science
From Plato onward, from the “freedom” of ancient Greece to the “Enlightenment” of the modern era, the issues of philosophy of science and political philosophy have always been entangled, impossible to disentangle. By the time we reach the “official history” of twentieth-century philosophy of science, we see this especially clearly: from Popper’s liberalism to Kuhn’s “revolution” and then to Feyerabend’s anarchism, the development of philosophy of science was practically a debate in political philosophy. Looking back at the history of thought from ancient Greece to the Enlightenment, we can be certain that philosophers of science borrowing political terminology is by no means merely a coincidence or a metaphor. Ancient Greece…
science politics Kant Plato
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2008年1月21日
On “Feyerabend Quotations 3 and 4” (Prescribing Remedies for the Age and Traditional Chinese Medicine, Etc.)

History of Science & Scholarship2008.01.05
On “Feyerabend Quotations 3 and 4” (Prescribing Remedies for the Age and Traditional Chinese Medicine, Etc.)
http://hps.phil.pku.edu.cn/bbs/read.php?tid=335 http://hps.phil.pku.edu.cn/bbs/read.php?tid=336 XinZhaiLaoJiang Feyerabend Quotations 3 “I did not say that epistemology should become anarchist, or that philosophy of science should become anarchist. I said that these two disciplines should accept anarchism as a medicine. Epistemology is sick now and must be treated, and the medicine is anarchism. Medicine is not something people have to take all the time. People take medicine only during a certain period, and then stop.” Science in a Free Society: P139-140 [楼主] | Posted: 2008-01-24 01:01 GuChen This kind of “medicine” is too fierce and stimulating; it is not in keeping with the Chinese medicine way of nourishing life and regulating and supplementing the body~~…
philosophy science freedom politics
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2008年1月5日
[Repost] Catholic and Orthodox Churches May Be Reunited; the Pope as “First Bishop”

Life & Notes2007.11.17
[Repost] Catholic and Orthodox Churches May Be Reunited; the Pope as “First Bishop”
http://news.qq.com/a/20071117/000772.htm CNS, November 17 — The Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church, which have been split for more than 950 years, have taken a very important step toward reunification. The two sides have recently drafted a joint document and, for the first time, agreed to call the pope the “first bishop,” with a status above that of the Orthodox patriarchs. Yet after the two churches eventually reunify, the pope’s supreme power will inevitably be weakened; on the contrary, the Ecumenical Patriarch of the Orthodox Church may use this to strengthen his influence over Muslim countries, becoming, in effect, the “pope” of the entire Orthodox world. According to Hong Kong Wen…
everyday life politics faith religion
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2007年11月17日