JOURNAL OF DIALECTICS OF NATURE
A Comprehensive, Academic Journal of the Philosophy, History, Sociology and Cultural Studies of Science and Technology
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The Context Sensitivity of Referential Attribution Abstract: In the traditional philosophy of language, the establishment of reference theory is mostly based on the assumption that one class of terms only corresponds to a “correct” reference theory. Philosophers have engaged in decades-long debates regarding the appropriateness of the description theory and the causal-historical theory. However, recent semantics experiments on natural kind terms, led by Nichols and others, show both theories hold partially. Natural kind terms may exhibit a causal-historical interpretation on certain occasions and a descriptivist interpretation on others, as their meanings shift based on the conversational context. These findings underscore the contextual sensitivity of referential attribution, highlighting a new dimension in reference exploration. The result of referential attribution should be collectively shaped by contextual factors associated with the attributor, referent, and the nature of terms etc. Adopting a macro-contextualist perspective, the establishment of contextualism in referential attribution offers a reasonable approach to understand and elucidate the intricacies of the reference attribution process and the varied outcomes it produces. Key Words: Experimental philosophy of language; Referential theory; Referential attribution; Contextual sensitivitypage: 24-30The Big Picture of Other Minds: A Visual Analysis Utilizing CiteSpace Abstract: This study analyzes 1433 research articles published between 1991 and 2023, which were indexed in the SCI, SSCI, and A&HCI citation databases of the Web of Science. Utilizing the CiteSpace visualization software, the study provides a comprehensive analysis of the publication status, research hotspots, frontiers, trends and directions in other minds research over the past three decades. The findings indicate that Western countries have been the primary contributors to this research, focusing primarily on philosophy and psychology. The research hotspots encompass topics such as theory of mind, mirror neuron systems, and autism spectrum disorder. Additionally, ongoing debates and explorations revolve around shared intentionality, cultural evolution, direct social perception, intelligent interaction robots, and Bayesian brain, which represent cutting-edge issues in the field. The research trend typically reflects the shift in epistemology and methodology within the context of interdisciplinary studies and multiple theories. Key Words: Problem of other mind; Mind reading; Direct social perception; Culture evolutionpage: 31-41Organismic Traits and the Explanatory Scope of Natural Selection Abstract: Could natural selection explain why an individual organism has the traits it does? Debates over this topic have lasted for decades in the philosophy of biology. Indeed, the negative view and the positive view have different interpretations of the very why-question. The two sides have posited different explananda: a whole explicit fact (for the positive view) vs. a particular contrastive focal aspect of the explicit fact (for the negative view). Both explananda are reasonable and acceptable. However, elimination of misinterpretation does not render the negative view true. Rather, I argue that the negative view as a universal proposition is indeed untenable, for there are counterexamples for it in cases of symbiosis, lateral gene transfer, and genic selection. Key Words: Organismic traits; Natural selection; Scientific explanationpage: 40-48The Diversity of Mathematics and Its Relationship to School of the Mind in the Middle Ming Dynasty Abstract: For a long time, the academic community has generally regarded the emptiness of xinxue (i.e. school of the mind in the middle Ming dynasty) as a key factor in the decline of mathematics and even science during the Ming dynasty. Since Zhu Yuanzhang, the Taizu Emperor of the Ming Dynasty, abolished School of Mathematics at the Imperial University, scholars’ understanding of the relationship between mathematics and Confucianism was largely shaped by Zhu Xi’s influence. In the middle of the Ming Dynasty, xinxue gained prominence, with Wang Yangming considering mathematics an insignificant branch of his xinxue. However, some of his followers, such as Gu Yingxiang and Tang Shunzhi, engaged deeply traditional mathematics. As a result, there was no theoretical consensus on the relationship between mathematics and xinxue. This divergence was linked to the coexistence of multiple mathematical practices in the Jiajing reign of the Ming Dynasty. On the one hand, Gu Yingxiang, Tang Shunzhi, and Zhou Shuxue devoted considerable efforts to study problems relating to right-angle triangle as well as arc-sagitta of circles. However, since the mathematical manuscripts available at that time may not have included detailed procedural explanations using rod numerals, these scholars struggled to fully understand the operations of the Celestial Source method. On the other hand, mathematics continues to thrive in various practical domains, including commerce, military strategy and music. From the perspective of mathematical practice, mathematics and xinxue were relatively independent. The rise of xinxue did not, in itself, present a substantial obstacle to the development of mathematics and science. Key Words: Mathematical practice; School of the Mind; Gu Yingxiang; Tang Shunzhi; Zhou Shuxuepage: 76-83JOURNAL OF DIALECTICS OF NATURE
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