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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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How Could AI Develop Its Self-consciousness? Abstract: The danger of AI will come from its self-consciousness rather than its capacity. AI would be a challenge to mankind if it develops a capacity for reflection on the system of its own, so that it would know how to remake its system with new rules, especially when it could invent its own language for all purposes, equal in capacity to human natural language, it could do anything it would. And AI would be most dangerous if it would be able to learn human desires, emotions and values, because all hostilities are based upon human desires and values.
From A Man-Machine Relationship to Inter Human Relations: Definition and Strategy of Artificial Intelligence Abstract: In order to distinguish the intelligent machine as a tool from the robot as a subject, the definition of human must change from essentialism to functionalism. So far, artificial intelligence has gone through three stages of development: formalization, empiricization and rationalization, but it is still not in the structure, but in the function of simulating human thinking. Only a functionalist definition of human beings can be compatible with the future of new species and new humans-"uncontrolled" robots. If "uncontrolled" robots emerge, the relationship between natural person and robot will develop from human-machine relationship to inter-human relationship. This relationship is neither the relationship between man and machine, nor the relationship between man and animal, nor the relationship between natural people. Natural people should not adopt the previous strategy to treat robots. Human supremacism is not self-evident. Natural man's self-re-evolution, man-machine parallel and man-machine fusion are feasible schemes for natural man to avoid being overtaken, replaced and eliminated by robots.
Non-Reductive Explanation in Biology: Context Arguments Abstract: Biological practice over the last several decades has shown that in many cases we cannot properly explain a higher-level phenomenon of interest only in terms of phenomena or mechanisms provided by lowerlevel explanations; to properly explain the higher-level phenomenon, information provided by the higher-level is also indispensable. One typical case is the context dependence of biological phenomena, namely, the occurrence of a higher-level phenomenon depends on its relevant environmental factors (e.g. cellular environments) which cannot simply be reduced to the lower-level (e.g. molecules) . On the other hand, the occurrence of the higher-level phenomenon can sometimes be independent of its lower-level underpinnings, since a change to the lower-level underpinnings does not necessarily result in corresponding changes in the higher-level. Facts based on these two sides constitute a ground for rejecting explanatory reductionism. This essay, by reference to examples drawn from biological practice, will discuss how contextual facts pose a challenge to explanatory reductionism.
Epistemic Injustice in Open Science and Its Remedies Abstract: By opening scientific information and processes, the open science movement aims to increase the openness, transparency, and reproducibility of the scientific research process by making data and publications freely accessible to a wider community and public. These efforts to realize the epistemic values of science equally in the scientific community and non-specialists, have encountered many problems. Few philosophical discussions addressed the problem of changing epistemic communities that exist in the open science movement. Using the concept of epistemic injustice, this paper identifies the epistemic groups’ change and epistemic injustice associated with open science in different scenarios, and then distinguishes how open science exacerbates the existing problems of scientific research, as well as the new problems brought about by open science. Finally, based on the multiple epistemic goals of scientific research, the paper proposes possible ways to remedy the problems by cultivating and taking advantage of the epistemic diversity of different groups. Key Words: Open science; Epistemic injustice; Epistemic diversity; Division of cognitive labor; Epistemic
Organismic 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 explanation
The 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 Shuxue
Philip Warren Anderson: The Founder of Condensed Matter Physics Abstract: Philip Warren Anderson is revered as a “giant” in the field of condensed matter physics. Since the 1940s, he has delved into research on magnetic theory, superconducting theory, and the electronic structure of disordered systems, proposing the concept of Anderson localization. Furthermore, he made pivotal contributions to the Anderson-Higgs mechanism, which laid the foundation for the Standard Model of particle physics. In 1972, Anderson penned the renowned article “More Is Different”, whose core idea of “emergence” is considered a profound philosophical insight of the 20th century, and the article itself stands as a manifesto proclaiming the autonomy of condensed matter physics. Key Words: Philip Warren Anderson; Condensed matter physics; Symmetry breaking; Emergence; Anderson localization
Dr. Edward Hume: The Intermediary Who Promoted the Rockefeller Foundation’s Initial Public Health Practice in China Abstract: The Rockefeller Foundation intended to carry out hookworm disease treatment and prevention campaigns in many countries around the world at its initiation. Dr. Edward Hume, as the founder of the Yali Hospital and the Hsiang-ya Medical College in Hunan, tried to seek financial support from the Rockefeller Foundation in order to fulfill his plan in public health education in China. He used his connections and influence in Hunan to help the Rockefeller Foundation introduce the hookworm disease treatment and prevention project into China. In this transnational undertaking, Dr. Hume essentially played the role of an intermediary, who considerably promoted the Rockefeller Foundation’s earliest public health practice in China.
Kinnosuke Ogura: A Pioneer in The Study of Social History of Mathematics Abstract: Kinnosuke Ogura was a renowned mathematical historian and educator in modern Japan. He has made outstanding contribution to the study of mathematics education and the history of mathematics. In the filed of mathematical history, he began to study the social problems of mathematics in the late 1920s. He believed that the sociality of mathematics must be concretized in the study of mathematical history, and investigated the relationship between the ideology, the economic foundation and the development of mathematics. He was a pioneer in the social history of mathematics. Key Words: Kinnosuke Ogura; Mathematical history; Sociality

News & Events

Video Playback of the Ninth Session of New Perspectives on the History of British Science from the 17th to the 19th Centuries On May 8, at 9 p.m. Beijing time, the ninth session of New Perspectives on the History of British Science from the 17th to the 19th Centuries was held online as scheduled.

Video Playback of the Eighth Session of New Perspectives on the History of British Science from the 17th to the 19th Centuries On April 10, at 9 a.m. Beijing time, the eighth session of New Perspectives on the History of British Science from the 17th to the 19th Centuries was held online as scheduled.

Seminar 8. Empire and Gender（New Perspectives on the History of British Science from the 17th to the 19th Centuries ） Welcome to join the Seminar Seminar 8. Empire and Gender of New Perspectives on the History of British Science from the 17th to the 19th Centuries .

Video Playback of the Seventh Session of New Perspectives on the History of British Science from the 17th to the 19th Centuries On March 13, at 6 p.m. Beijing time, the seventh session of New Perspectives on the History of British Science from the 17th to the 19th Centuries was held online as scheduled.

Seminar 7. Optics and Astronomy（New Perspectives on the History of British Science from the 17th to the 19th Centuries ） Welcome to join the Seminar Seminar 7. Optics and Astronomy of New Perspectives on the History of British Science from the 17th to the 19th Centuries .

Video Playback of the Sixth Session of New Perspectives on the History of British Science from the 17th to the 19th Centuries On February 13, at 9 p.m. Beijing time, the sixth session of New Perspectives on the History of British Science from the 17th to the 19th Centuries was held online as scheduled.

Seminar 6. Imperial Economies and the Exchange of Natural Knowledge in the 17th and 18th Centuries（New Perspectives on the History of British Science from the 17th to the 19th Centuries ） Welcome to join the Seminar 6. Imperial Economies and the Exchange of Natural Knowledge of New Perspectives on the History of British Science from the 17th to the 19th Centuries .

Video Playback of the Fifth Session of New Perspectives on the History of British Science from the 17th to the 19th Centuries On January 9, at 9 a.m. Beijing time, the fifth session of New Perspectives on the History of British Science from the 17th to the 19th Centuries was held online as scheduled. The theme is The Chemical Revolution and Climate Change. The first speaker is Jan Golinski, whose speech title is : Climate Change and Society in Britain, 1790-1820. The next speaker is TONG Yichen, whose report title named Between Atomism, Elementalism, and Empiricism: The Chemical Studies of Étienne-François Geoffrey. The meeting was hosted by Professor Bernard Lightman.

Seminar 5. The Chemical Revolution and Climate Change（New Perspectives on the History of British Science from the 17th to the 19th Centuries ） Welcome to join the Seminar 5. The Chemical Revolution and Climate Change（New Perspectives on the History of British Science from the 17th to the 19th Centuries ）.

Video Playbacks of the Four Session of New Perspectives on the History of British Science from the 17th to the 19th Centuries On December 12, at 12 noon Beijing time, the four session of New Perspectives on the History of British Science from the 17th to the 19th Centuries was held online as scheduled.

Seminar 4. Gardens as Scientific Sites in the Early Modern Period（New Perspectives on the History of British Science from the 17th to the 19th Centuries ） Welcome to join the Seminar 4. Gardens as Scientific Sites in the Early Modern Period（New Perspectives on the History of British Science from the 17th to the 19th Centuries ）.

Video Playback of the Third Session of New Perspectives on the History of British Science from the 17th to the 19th Centuries On November 14, at 10 p.m. Beijing time, the third session of New Perspectives on the History of British Science from the 17th to the 19th Centuries was held online as scheduled.

Seminar 3. Darwin and the Big Picture（New Perspectives on the History of British Science from the 17th to the 19th Centuries ） Welcome to join the Seminar 2. Imagination and Innovation in Natural Philosophy of New Perspectives on the History of British Science from the 17th to the 19th Centuries.

Video Playback of the Second Session of New Perspectives on the History of British Science from the 17th to the 19th Centuries Welcome to join the Seminar 2. Imagination and Innovation in Natural Philosophy of New Perspectives on the History of British Science from the 17th to the 19th Centuries .

Seminar 2. Imagination and Innovation in Natural Philosophy （New Perspectives on the History of British Science from the 17th to the 19th Centuries ） Welcome to join the Seminar 2. Imagination and Innovation in Natural Philosophy of New Perspectives on the History of British Science from the 17th to the 19th Centuries .

Video Playback of the first session of New Perspectives on the History of British Science from the 17th to the 19th Centuries On September 19, at 9 a.m. Beijing time, the first session of New Perspectives on the History of British Science from the 17th to the 19th Centuries was held online as scheduled. The theme of the first session is Issues in Nineteenth Century Astronomy. The first speaker is Huang Hsiang-Fu, whose speech title is Visual Technology and Religious Sentiment in Nineteenth-Century Popular Astronomy Lecturing. The next speaker is Robert Smith, whose report named The Retellings of the Discovery of Neptune. The seminar is hosted by Professor Bernard Lightman. The following is the video playback of the seminar.

Seminar 1. Issues in Nineteenth Century Astronomy （New Perspectives on the History of British Science from the 17th to the 19th Centuries ） Welcome to join the Seminar 1. Issues in Nineteenth Century Astronomy of New Perspectives on the History of British Science from the 17th to the 19th Centuries

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Robert S. Cohen Commemoration Symposium Held

Starting from the “Springtime for Science”—An Academic Symposium in Celebration of the 40th Anniversary of the Launch of the Journal of Dialectics of Nature and the 40th Anniversary of the Founding of the University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences

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