Philosophical Reflection on Risks of Transgenic Technology

[Objective] The aim was to analyze risks of transgenic technology. [Method] Discussions on risks of transgenic technologies were conducted from perspective of philosophy. [Result] Mechanistic philosophy and reductionism are causes of reflection on risks of transgenic technology. Considering transgene is an artificial choice taking place of natural choice, it is inevitable for risks of transgenic technology to be found. In addition, social system constitutes the root for out-of-control of transgenic technology, hence, mechanism risk is the primary cause of transgenic risks. [Conclusion] It is inescapable for science view to be changed from arbitrary and lopsided to reflective and comprehensive and for technology view to be changed from exterminative and genesic to protective and symbiotic.

Coronavirus and Gordon Life Science Institute

The impacts of coronavirus to our planet are unprecedented;i.e., they are going to eliminate the entire mankind. Driven by such horrible situation, some philosophical viewpoints have naturally happened. Whether the “World End” must come? If yes, when? During this waiting period, the best way to do science is via the Internet Institute, such as “Gordon Life Science Institute”, and the results thus achieved will be most rewarding.

Richard Power’s Philosophical Thoughts in Prisoner’s Dilemma

The“prisoner’s dilemma”illustrates that everyone is rationally thinking about maximizing their own interests and taking their own best strategies,but the end result is counterproductive.In Prisoner’s Dilemma Richard Powers describes multiformareas of dilemma;to lose balance;to make choices;and ask each other:what to do next?It is a master trope for relaying the permanent impasse or dilemma of cooperation versus defection.In most cases,the prisoner's dilemma is more about the number of defeats in the game,and even a major loss of society.Individual rationality is likely to be a collective disregard,and if everyone is acting on the principle of self-interest,it is often the result that everyone is lost.Powers expresses his philosophical insight:Until a cooperative instead of antagonistic solution is collectively agreed upon,we still remain imprisoned in an interminable and oppressive struggle and conflict decided by self-interest and rational control,which is also a moral response to historical consciousness of postmodernism.

＂Some Reflections upon the True Grounds ofMorality＂ Catharine Trotter in Defence of John Locke

Although excluded from the standard account of the history of philosophy, Catharine Trotter Cockbum （1679-1749）avoided the 17th-century bias against female intellectual skills and was an active contributor to the early modemphilosophical discourse. In her Defence of Mr Locke＇s Essay （1702）, she defended Locke from several criticisms byThomas Burnet （1635-1715）. By analysing three of Bumet＇s main arguments, such as the theory of naturalconscience, his anti-voluntarism, and his belief in the immateriality of the soul, Trotter showed that he oftenmisinterpreted John Locke＇s principles, especially those concerning his moral epistemology.

Diogenes Laërtius: A Moderate Skeptic in the History of Philosophy (Book IX)

This paper presents the keys and reasons for Diogenes Laërtius’ alleged scepticism, based on an analysis of thegeneral design of his work The Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers. I believe that it would be manifestlyerroneous to seek confirmation of this scepticism solely in Book IX without taking into account the overallstructure of the work. A convincing explanation is also provided of one of the most enigmatic and most studiedphrases in this work. What did Diogenes mean when he said that Apollonides of Nicaea was ὁ παρ’ ἡμῶν (“one ofus”)?

The Parable of the Three Rings

Which is the true religion？ In the Middle Ages, the parable of the three rings, in all its versions, is a subtle answer to this question, which uses a persuasive allegory. The allegory of the three rings refers to a previous allegory, represented by three gems, one real and two fakes. The religion of the philosophers was born from the hidden meaning of the same allegory： universalism, brotherhood of men as children of the one and only God, the transcendence of a single God that cannot be reduced to any particular representation, and love for one＇s neighbors. The three sons who receive the inheritance of the ring, given by their father, are all loved by him and all three receive a gem that could be the real one. The similarity of the position of the three sons is equivalent to the moral element shared by the three religions： All those who believe in God and his justice put into practice the fundamental teachings of the philosophers. The meaning of the allegory is evident： None of the three sons can claim with certainty the possession of the real ring, but precisely because of this their faith can remain clear, removed from the temptation of pursuing someone because of that person＇s religion.

The Theory of Four Elements Through History and Its Influence on the Development of Chemistry

The theory of four elements(or roots)was the first plural attempt to explain life and change and was based on the combination of four different roots that give rise to life and matter.The four elements(fire,air,water and earth)were thought to be the building blocks of all substances.This theory was derived from observation and reason and it might be viewed as a material or substancialist theory.Its development brought important concepts such as equilibrium,proportion and combination to chemistry and medicine.The aim of the present paper is to describe the theory of four elements,its origin and development from Empedocles and Aristotle to Roulle and Beeckman.Although the conception of the chemical elementsin modern chemistry is different from the theory of four elements,that theory was valuable as an intellectual effort to understand nature and transmutation and to conciliate reason and senses,besides being the first theory postulating the pluralism of matter’s composition,in opposition to monism.I argue that chemistry has a past and it is important to know the theory of the four elements for its historical value because it can be considered an introductory chapter of chemistry,introducing the concepts of indestructible elements and the proportional combination of them in Western thought.

从功能对等理论看Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone中译本的专有名词之比较

谈到现代西方魔幻文学,我们马上就想到一位英国作家——乔安妮·凯瑟琳·罗琳,以及她的代表作品《哈利·波特》。这个作品为七部曲,主要介绍了主人公哈利·波特在经过魔法世界中的种种磨练,最终打败黑暗势力,成长为一位年轻优秀的魔法师的传奇故事。它是一部魔幻儿童文学作品,深受各个年龄阶层人们的喜爱,风靡全球。从《哈利·波特》引发的热潮开始,各种争议也此起彼伏,有关这个作品的学术研究也一直不断。文章以《哈利·波特与魔法石》的苏农译本和彭倩文译本为研究比较对象,利用尤金·奈达的功能对等理论,从各个角度对原著中的重要专有名词展开系统分类,以及深入分析专有名词的各种翻译途径,如何最贴切地翻译文学作品中的专有名称,来帮助中国读者更好地理解作者罗琳所创造的世界。

On the Theme of Coexistence of Opposites in The Left Hand of Darkness

As one of the best-known literary works of the American novelist Ursula K.Le Guin,The Left Hand of Darkness is not only successful in its splendid plots and beautiful language but also in the important function of its readers in reading.In the thesis,one of its themes,coexistence of opposites,is analyzed in the reader response perspective in order to reveal Le Guin's reader-consciousness.The theme exists on a higher level in the novel and expresses Le Guin's attitude towards life and universe.Le Guin unified her own philosophy in the novel and tried to call for the reader's resonance.

Philosophical Thinking on Soil and Water Ecology

Any ecosystem is commonly composed of organism and environmental system. Vegetation is primary producer and key factor of biological system,while water and soil are leading factors of environmental system. How to conform to and use nature,protect the integrity and continuity of the ecosystem,play ecological service function of the system,protect and improve eco-environment needs grasping key factor of ecosystem or principal contradiction,namely water,soil and vegetation. Said from the source,all human activities are dealing with water,soil and vegetation,and continuously using and changing water,soil and vegetation for production of material goods and social economic construction,thereby affecting and changing natural environment. Main problems of eco-environment are induced by the interference and destruction on water,soil and vegetation by human activities. But human beings cannot manipulate and change natural phenomenon and rule,such as sunlight,diurnal variation and revolution of the earth. Soil and water ecology is the deepening and development of soil and water conservation view,and innovation and expansion of ecological science,and indicates a kind of ecological equilibrium relationship among soil,water and vegetation on the earth inter-associating,inter-promoting and inter-developing. Broadly speaking,soil and water ecology indicates the sum total of all relations among water,soil and vegetation in motion and evolution process. Cognition of soil and water ecology from the height of philosophy is conducive to further understanding important position and role of soil and water ecology theory in eco-environment,correctly recognizing position and relationship between man and nature,and clearly finding the key of current eco-environment problem and its future and direction,which could provide important theoretic support for maintaining earth's eco-environment and realizing sustainable development of mankind.

The Call of the Wild Is a Reflection of Jack London' s Diverse Philosophies

The Call of the Wild is one of the most famous novels written by Jack London.By borrowing vivid materials from his rich living experiences and diverse philosophies from different sources,he manages to make a dog named Buck the hero,an impressive image which at tracts broad attention of both readers and critics.The writer intends to explore the author' s diverse philosophies,from the perspectives of Marxism,Darwinism,Social Darwinism and the Superman Theory respectively.And the writer will also point out this is caused by the col lision of different social ideas at that time.

Solution to the Mind-Body Relation Problem: Information

In this paper it is analyzed from the informational perspective the relation between mind and body, an ancientphilosophic issue defined as a problem, which still did not receive up to date an adequate solution. Byintroducing/using the concept of information, it is shown that this concept includes two facets, one of themreferring to the common communications and another one referring to a hidden/structuring matter-relatedinformation, effectively acting in the human body and in the living systems, which determines the dynamicinter-change of information between specific structures of the organism by electric/electronic/chemical agents andgenetic/epigenetic processes. It is shown that the maintenance of body, permanently and obligatory depending onthe external matter (foods, air, water) resources, needed to provide both the structuring/restructuring basic materialand energy, determines the necessary existence of an info-managing system, administrating the internalmechano-chemical/physical processes. As a natural consequence, such a system should organize and assure ownsurvival by an effective informational operability to detect the external food resources, to select the appropriateinterest information and to decide as a function of circumstances. One important component in such aninformational system is memory, allowing to dispose of the reference informational data for analysis/comparisonand the selection between good and bad binary possible decisions. The memory receives and stores thereforesignals from external reality and from the body itself, referring to the emotional reaction, digestion status, creation,and inherited predilections, within specific info-neural communication circuits between the brain and bodyexecution/sensitive organs, the human body appearing as an integrated info-matter self-managed dynamic system.The specific body components memorize information with different degrees of info-integration: short/long-termintegration, emotive/action reaction, info-abilities, culminating with the integration in the chromosomal structuresby epigenetic processes. The new acquired information is transgenerationally transmissible, and is manifested asnew traits, showing the adaptation capability of the human and close relation between mind and body. Analyzingthe results of such a mind-body informational model in comparison with the earlier assumed/proposed/assertedarchaic, Greek and Occidental philosophies, which represent only partial aspects of this relation, it is shown thatthis informational model, elaborated in terms of information on the basis of scientific reasons and arguments,constitutes a general, realist, and coherent model of the mind-body relation, able to integrate and/or explain most ofthe others.

A Confession Caused by Laughter─Albert Camus and His Novel＂The Fall＂

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Information： From Philosophic to Physics Concepts for Informational Modeling of Consciousness

Information was a frequently used concept in many fields of investigation. However, this concept is still not really understood, when it is referred for instance to consciousness and its informational structure. In this paper it is followed the concept of information from philosophical to physics perspective, showing especially how this concept could be extended to matter in general and to the living in particular, as a result of the intimate interaction between matter and information, the human body appearing as a bipolar informed-matter structure. It is detailed on this way how this concept could be referred to consciousness, and an informational modeling of consciousness as an informational system of the human body is presented. Based on the anatomic architecture of the organism and on the inference of the specific information concepts, it is shown that the informational system of the human body could be described by seven informational subsystems, which are reflected in consciousness as corresponding cognitive centers. These results are able to explain the main properties of consciousness, both the cognitive and extra-cognitive properties of the mind, like that observed during the near-death experiences and other similar phenomena. Moreover, the results of such a modeling are compared with the existing empirical concepts and models on the energetic architecture of the organism, showing their relevance for the understanding of consciousness.

Informational Model of Consciousness: From Philosophic Concepts to an Information Science of Consciousness

On the long and well-worn road of many, but justifiable attempts of human to discover his origin, his trajectory as a species, and a suitable understanding consciousness, his system allowing the connection to the environment and to his own organism, the concepts and models of philosophy enunciated or experienced by millennia, meet today with modern science concepts of physics and of science of information. Based on recent discoveries of quantum physics and astrophysics, revealing a new understanding of our environment and starting from some philosophical concepts on information of matter and of living structures, this work discusses the dynamics of information within the frame of the Informational Model of Consciousness as an informational system of the human body, connected both to the environment and to the body itself, to control the adaptation for survival. It is shown that consciousness is actually an informational projection in the mind of seven informational subsystems, three of which forming the operative system of consciousness for the short-term adaptation, and other three forming the programmed operating system, dedicated to the maintenance of body and to the long-term survival of species, showing various inputs and outputs of information. The seventh subsystem is the information pole, connecting the organism with the external information, especially related to the extra-sensorial properties of the mind, the human body appearing as a bipolar info-matter structure, managed by the brain. The received information is progressively integrated into the informational system of the organism, which absorbs and emanates information as a reactive system for adaptation, able to operate both with matter-related (codified) and non-matter related (virtual) information. As both connections with external and internal environment (body itself) can be described in terms of information, this model opens the gate to investigate consciousness by means of the tools of the information science, offering also answers to the philosophic “mind-body” problem and to the “hard” problem and showing correspondences with some ancient philosophies.

“The Great Classicist Symphonic Movements of Beethoven... Can Be Ideally So Heard as Lasting Just a Moment：” Adorno on Musical Time

In the context of his thoughts on the relationship between music and time in his Musical Writings, Adorno refers often to the above quoted thesis. This paradoxicality, attributed to particular symphonies of Beethoven, tends to become a fixed idea in the context of his thoughts on musical time. Adorno adopts Hegel＇s understanding of time as process of permanent overcoming of instants. He finds an analogy between instant and musical motive, based on the common, in Hegel＇s and Beethoven＇s systems, notion of the working-out of an idea and of a musical structure respectively. He then tries to include in the process of becoming extended and reappearing formal parts, such as themes and expositions. How could he find a convergence between permanent formal growth and persistence of formal parts, which distinguishes a musical work from an improvisation？ In order to transcend this immanent antinomy, he applies Hegelian logical principles.

New Perspective for the Philosophy of Religion: New Era Theory, Religion and Science

In this article,author expressed the meaning of“belief”,possible effective factors in human life,and how these factors can be effective on person and/or communities.With this respect,the meaning of religion,the possible interaction and relation between religion and science evaluated.42 past/present theories of religion and evaluation of the past/present works of the 87 philosophers of religion are explained.Author considered new synthesis(R-Synthesis),and also new era philosophy,new and re-constructed branches of philosophy,and some systems/constructions to express the new perspective for philosophy of religion.Author applied 27(+)possible definitive/certain result cases of the synthesis for R-Religion discipline specifically,and did the followings under new perspective:(i)eliminated some religious subjects,(ii)unified some religious subjects,(iii)modified some religious subjects,(iv)united some religious subjects in upper phase,(v)separated some religious subject,(vi)defined all religious subjects under one framework,(vii)integrated all religious subjects,(viii)defined new religious subjects,(ix)re-defined some religious subjects,(x)removed some religious subjects and put new religious subjects instead,(xi)added some religious subjects,(xii)kept/protected some religious subjects,(xiii)proposed progression for religious subjects,(xiv)changed the priority of some religious subjects,(xv)increased the importance of some religious subjects,(xvi)strengthened the ethics,(xvii)integrated philosophy branches under one framework,(xviii)others.Some of the purposes of this article are:(i)to define new synthesis method,(ii)to define good and/or correct new perspective and structure for philosophy of religion,science of religion,theories of religion,and related subjects,(iii)to extend the definition/limits of philosophy of religion with new perspective,(iv)others.As result of the synthesis,new perspective for philosophy of religion explained by considering the following concepts/sections:(a)theories of religion,(b)17 upper constructional philosophies and philosophy of religion,(c)eight complementary branches of philosophy of religion,(d)14 lower constructional philosophies and philosophy of religion,(e)science of religion,(f)new theory of religion and its relations with other disciplines.Author defined New Era Theory,New Era Religion,New Era Belief,Progressive Religion and their relations with other religions,beliefs,religious/non-religious movements,and the relation with other theories of religion.Also,power authorities and functional position levels in the New Era Belief,and Religion of God,Knowledge of God/gods,Nature of God/gods concepts are explained generally/specifically.

The Connotations and English Translations of Dao (道) in Chinese Classics

Translating, in light of philosophical hermeneutics, is a process of understanding and interpreting, of which understanding is the premise. Dao (道) is a core concept in traditional Chinese ideology with plentiful cultural connotations. While, it has been put into a variety of dictions. Only the thorough understanding of the language and culture in the source text leads to the appropriate production in translation.

Cultural Transmission and the Building of a Community with Shared Future for Mankind

As one of the key concepts of Xi Jinping’s Theory,“A Community with Shared Future for Man-kind”(CSFM hereafter) caters for the need of the epoch. Hence,how to build a CSFM has become an important theoretical and practical issue urgently needed to be considered and demonstrated in academic circles. This paper,from the perspectives of philosophical rationale,cultural confidence,ecological civilization and the mode of cultural transmis-sion,probes into the fact that the concept of CSFM has surmounted the cultural barrier and is one of the elements of consensus in cross - cultural transmission,which demonstrates that CSFM is the key to making cultural transmission successful and highlights the overall concern for humankind.

“Fusion of Horizons”——Analysis of Fortress Besieged From the Perspective of Gadamer’s Hermeneutics

According to Gadamer’s philosophical hermeneutics,two processes of“fusion of horizons”can be described as:the“horizons”of the text,the translator,and the target reader are“fused”together.Based upon the“fusion of horizons”of the hermeneutics proposed by Hans-Georg Gadamer,a leading German Continental philosopher of the twentieth century,this article aims to analyze English version of Wei Cheng written by Qian Zhongshu and then cooperatively translated by Jeanne Kelly and Nathan K.Mao.It is found that the translator can give new meaning to the text through“interpretation”,and on that basis,each interpretation of the text means a new process of“fusion of horizons”.