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JOURNAL OF DIALECTICS OF NATURE
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Browse
Published ahead of Print
Latest Issue
More Content
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Submit
Sign up/in
Author Guidelines
About Us
About the Journal
Editorial Board
Conference
Latest Articles
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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
Author:
ZHU Jing
WANG Yudi
JIANG Xuefeng
Issue:Volume 47, lssue 7, July 2025
Page: 1-11
Technological Breakthroughs in the Production Practice of Hand Grenades in the North China Anti-Japanese Aggression Base Areas: Centered on the Shanxi-Hebei-Henan and Shanxi-Chahaer-Hebei Base Areas
Abstract: During the Period of the War of Resistance Against Japan by the Whole Nation, hand grenades proved highly effective as weapons suitable for the mountain guerrilla warfare carried out by the Communist Party of China (CPC)’s armed forces of anti-Japanese aggression. Their large-scale use on the frontlines was inseparable from the support of a comprehensive hand grenade production system. Northern China, as the main battlefield for the CPC to lead the guerrilla warfare behind enemy lines, was also a region where the production and use of hand grenades were extremely common. Each base area in the region established a normalized hand grenade production system, with the Shanxi-Hebei-Henan and Shanxi-Chahaer-Hebei base areas being the most representative. As the anti-Japanese aggression base areas in Northern China focused on promoting the production of hand grenades, the technological breakthroughs made during the production process were issues worthy of investigation. They were not only a microcosm of the CPC’s efforts to overcome numerous difficulties and develop military industry during the War of Resistance Against Japan, but also a concrete manifestation of the combat effectiveness, organizational capabilities, mobilization abilities, and willpower of the CPC members during the revolutionary era. Key Words: War of Resistance Against Japan; Military industry; Hand grenades; Shanxi-Hebei-Henan base area; Shanxi-Chahaer-Hebei base area
Author:
LIU Zongling
WEN Bo
Issue:Volume 47, lssue 7, July 2025
Page: 1-9
A Legend in the History of World Light Weapons: The Mosin-Nagant Rifle
Abstract: Through a systematic examination of the development process, model evolution, structural characteristics, ammunition support, battlefield applications, and retired effects of the standard weapons equipped from the era of Tsarist Russia to the period of the Soviet Union, this article showcases the legendary life of the Mosin-Nagant rifle and points out its profound influence and important inspiration on the development of rifles, especially sniper rifles. And Mosin created highly reliable, precise, and world-class magazine rifles, paving the way for the thriving light weapons industry in Soviet Russia. Furthermore, from the perspective of social and technological history, a brief analysis is conducted on the development process of the Mosin-Nagant rifle, as well as some issues related to technological development and social interaction. Key Words: Rifle; Mosin-Nagant rifle; Sniper rifle; Practical verification
Author:
YANG Zhiguo
DUAN Yaoyong
Issue:Volume 47, lssue 7, July 2025
Page: 10-15
An Analysis of Two Krupp-Type Retractable Field Guns Replicated by the Ning Bureau for the Late Qing Dynasty’s Imperial Machine Corps
Abstract: During the heyday of the Self-Strengthening Movement, the late Qing government was dedicated to reinforcing coastal defense, with military factories across the country eagerly importing and replicating advanced Western artillery technologies. These technologies included British-style Armstrong, Whitworth, and Vavasseur breech-loading and muzzle-loading rifled cannons, as well as German-style Krupp and Gruson dual-purpose breech-loading rifled cannons. In particular, the “Krupp” artillery, with its outstanding performance, quickly became the mainstream equipment in the military. However, details about the production scale, technical level, and actual combat performance of these copied cannon types remain largely unknown. The design inspiration for these cannons came from a delegation sent by the Qing court’s influential minister Li Hongzhang to inspect the Krupp factory, and they were replicated by the Jinling Machine Bureau (abbreviated as “Ning Bureau”). These cannons not only represent the Ning Bureau’s support for the Imperial Guard Camp but also mark the beginning of China’s early introduction of Krupp land-based cannon types, ending the late Qing era’s inability to produce breech-loading rifled cannons domestically. These two cannons were lost overseas for a long time, likely looted by the invading forces during the war. Key Words: Jinling Machinery Bureau; Krupp artillery; Shenji Camp; Li Hongzhang
Author:
LIU Hongliang
YANG Tao
Issue:Volume 47, lssue 7, July 2025
Page: 16-23
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 sensitivity
Author:
CAO Jianbo
LIN Yuling
Issue:Volume 47, lssue 7, July 2025
Page: 24-30
Hot Articles
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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 )
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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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