标签：realism

Upgrading One’s Worldview Is Not So Easy—A Review of Worldview

History of Science & Scholarship2019.03.05
Upgrading One’s Worldview Is Not So Easy—A Review of Worldview
This is a commissioned book review, published in China Science Daily (2019-03-01, Section 7, Book Review) The original title was: Before “Cognitive Upgrading,” It Is Even More Important to Understand the Foundations of Cognition When it was published, the title was changed (for the better), section headings were added, and some omissions were made. For example, the rather severe criticism I originally made of the translation was toned down quite a bit; I was informed in advance by the editor that I agreed to that. In addition, the embedded “advertisement” (for the Department of History of Science at Tsinghua) was removed, and the short final passage on Greek pseudo-history was…
book reading history of science philosophy of science Aristotle
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2019年3月5日
Selected Readings in Philosophy of Science: “Scientific Realism and the Plasticity of the Mind” (Post-Lecture Notes by the Lecturer, by Jalinus)

Teaching & Courses2017.12.11
Selected Readings in Philosophy of Science: “Scientific Realism and the Plasticity of the Mind” (Post-Lecture Notes by the Lecturer, by Jalinus)
Note: Classmate Jalinus was the first to make a PPT since the course began (though the PPT still wasn’t very good, with too many long quoted passages), and the notes he整理ed after class were also very认真, so I hereby commend him~ I was the one who took over for Chapter Five, and in the end I also appended the outline I had sorted out. Discussion-class notes by Jalinus November 28, 2017 Chapter One: The View from Scientific Realism One of Churchland’s major aims in this book is to sketch a new blueprint for human understanding. If one cannot provide an account of human understanding, one cannot speak glibly…
philosophy of science course knowledge realism
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2017年12月11日
Selected Readings from Classic Works in Philosophy of Science: Introduction

Teaching & Courses2017.09.26
Selected Readings from Classic Works in Philosophy of Science: Introduction
This class, as planned, was supposed to be me giving a general introductory lecture, but in fact it still mainly took the form of student discussion. I didn’t prepare a script, so I’m just putting the PPT content directly here. The PPT itself is fairly brief, meant only as a reference for the students in class when they review later. When I feel like it, I’ll add some connective commentary in the margins: What Is Philosophy of Science? SP or PS Scientific Philosophy Philosophy of Science “Scientific” philosophy —unscientific philosophy (“metaphysics”) “Philosophy “about science” —philosophy that discusses other objects (political philosophy, moral philosophy…) —other disciplines that discuss science (sociology of…
philosophy of science course Aristotle Kuhn
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2017年9月26日
Philosophical Ramblings [Episode 1]: Freedom Is Like Treating Someone to a Meal

Enlightenment & the Spirit of Freedom2015.08.07
Philosophical Ramblings [Episode 1]: Freedom Is Like Treating Someone to a Meal
Since I wanted to launch the “Philosophy Commentary” column, I had long been bursting with topics I wanted to write about, but when it came time to write, I no longer knew where to begin. Might as well start with an old topic: “freedom.” As for freedom, I have already written many articles discussing it; in fact, everything that needed saying has more or less already been said. But related discussions often involve the similarities and differences between freedom and equality, as well as specific issues such as freedom of speech, and they are not written in a very accessible way either. Here, I want to offer a popular-style commentary…
philosophy China freedom language
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2015年8月7日
Media Realism—Scientific Realism from the Perspective of Media Ontology

AI & the Future of Technology2011.02.22
Media Realism—Scientific Realism from the Perspective of Media Ontology
I’m very sorry that, in the end, I still couldn’t finish writing it. The latter half of the references simply wouldn’t integrate at all, so I’ll still mainly be talking off the cuff… But I really don’t want to get tied down any further by this paper, so tomorrow I’ll just give it as a casual discussion, and then in a few weeks I’ll write a proper paper that really stands on firm ground and present that instead. Media Realism—A View of Scientific Realism from Media Ontology “Realism” is an ancient and complex philosophical theme, tangled up with concepts such as truth and being, and involving fields such as metaphysics,…
philosophy technology media philosophy of science
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2011年2月22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
Mirror and Glass: Tactility and Reality (Postscript to “Aristotle’s Tactile World”)

Philosophy & Thought2009.06.19
Mirror and Glass: Tactility and Reality (Postscript to “Aristotle’s Tactile World”)
The little essay I finished the day before yesterday, “Aristotle’s Tactile World,” was an assignment for Teacher Sun’s course in Selected Readings from Original Works in Natural Philosophy. This semester we’ve been reading the first two parts of The Mechanization of the World Picture. I should say that I chose the topic in close relation to the course theme. I also kept the length to four thousand characters, which for me is rather unusual. Although this paper itself only touches the matter lightly, I believe it points to a huge problem. Behind all kinds of philosophical questions about causality, reality, modernity, and so-called embodied phenomenology, there lies a profound connection…
philosophy Aristotle being consciousness
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2009年6月19日
How Is Scientific Realism Possible?

History of Science & Scholarship2009.01.10
How Is Scientific Realism Possible?
Although every paper I write leaves me feeling revolted and miserable, it has been a long time since a paper made me this uncomfortable. After finishing it, I barely even read through it once before hastily printing it out and rushing to school to hand it in. The process of composing this paper was especially unpleasant too—I did read a lot of books: Quine, Dummett, Goodman, Putnam… all sorts of textbooks and handbooks on philosophy of science, metaphysics, epistemology… of course, all in Chinese translation. You ask why I still didn’t look for English materials? First, there wasn’t enough time; second, I really didn’t want to read them. I found…
history of science philosophy of science paper truth
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2009年1月10日
Classroom Presentation Script on Realism and Anti-Realism

History of Science & Scholarship2008.12.28
Classroom Presentation Script on Realism and Anti-Realism
Realism can be said to be one of the major questions in the history of science and a problem that reaches far back and ramifies widely. It can at least be traced to the dispute between Plato and Aristotle, and it was also one of the main topics of medieval scholastic philosophy. In contemporary philosophy of science, as well as in epistemology, metaphysics, philosophy of mind, philosophy of religion, and so on, realism is also an inescapable theme. The definition of realism and anti-realism is likewise highly uncertain. What counts as realism from one angle may count as anti-realism from another. The treatment of realism in this material is rather…
science philosophy of science Aristotle truth
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2008年12月28日