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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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Browse
Published ahead of Print
Latest Issue
More Content
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Author Guidelines
About Us
About the Journal
Editorial Board
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The Empirical Coherence of Loop Quantum Gravity
Abstract: It is often believed that loop quantum gravity and other forms of quantum gravitational theories face a problem of empirical (in) coherence because of the disappearance of fundamental spacetime at the quantum gravitational level. The standard solution to this problem is to find a way to account for spacetime emergence. This article argues that loop quantum gravity, in its covariant or Rovellian form, does not have a problem of empirical (in) coherence because the theory purports a process ontology rather than a substance ontology. Process ontology is an empirically coherent concept. The problem of empirical (in) coherence and the spacetime emergence claim are separated theses, even though they are closely related. Key Words: Spacetime; Quantum gravity; Ontology; Spacetime emergence
Author:
YAN Chunling
Issue:Volume 46, lssue 8, August 2024
Page: 1-9
The Realism Defence of the Strictness of Initial Axioms of Mathematics
Abstract: Based on the standpoint of realism, the reality of mathematical objects referred to by mathematical concepts constitutes the premise and foundation of the strictness of initial axioms of mathematics; The semantic space of initial axioms of mathematics contains a epistemological choice with truthfulness of mathematicians as the knowing subject regarding the possible world of mathematical objects with reality; Possible world semantics can provide a semantic analysis support on the basis of realism for the strictness argument of initial axiom of mathematics at the methodological level; The generation of initial axioms of mathematics is a process of methodology construction of hermeneutics, in which mathematicians engage in an overall thinking mechanism of “understanding-explanation(psychology)-explanation(text)” about mathematical objects with reality; The “hermeneutic cycle” methodological construction feature of mathematical axiom system, which starts from initial axioms of mathematics with reality, not only reflects the stability of mathematical axiom system at the epistemological level, but also further demonstrates and confirms the strictness of mathematical initial axiom. Key Words: Initial axioms of mathematics; Realism; Strictness; Possible world semantics; Hermeneutics
Author:
LIU Weiwei
LIU Xiaohong
Issue:Volume 46, lssue 8, August 2024
Page: 25-33
A Paradox in the Tide of Modernization: Application of Chemical Fertilizer in Modern China
Abstract: Chemical fertilizer is an important product and symbol of modernization. Modern Chinese society, which was striving to accept and catch up with the tide of modernization, could have expected the spread and rapid popularization of chemical fertilizers. However, the reality of life is that the use of chemical fertilizer in modern China was not only limited, but also developed slowly, and even declined after 1930. The application of chemical fertilizer in modern China presents an obvious paradox. The attitude of Chinese farmers towards the land in modern times, the side effects of chemical fertilizer application, and the special economic and social background are the main reasons for the poor application of chemical fertilizer, and also the key factors to understand the paradox of chemical fertilizer application in modern China. Key Words: Agricultural modernization; Chemical fertilizer; Negative effect of fertilizer
Author:
ZHENG Baofeng
YAN Huoqi
Issue:Volume 46, lssue 8, August 2024
Page: 58-66
Some Corrections in the Study of the Transmission of Electrical Knowledge in Late Qing Dynasty
Abstract: This paper does four things. First, it stages a critical debate with two earlier scholars on the question of the textual interpretation of Bo Wu Tong Shu. Secondly, joining the scholarly debate on the publication date of Dian Xue Gang Mu, it attempts to give its own estimate, locating the date to sometime between the November of 1880 and the year 1882. It also re-evaluates the historical significance of Dian Xue Gang Mu. Thirdly, it discusses and corrects the mistakes made in the introduction of electrical knowledge in History of Physics in China (Volume on Modern China). Lastly, it corrects the mis-interpretations of source material in the part on electrical knowledge in the book, The Transmission of Electromagnetism in Late Qing Dynasty: Based on the Examinations of Journals. Key Words: Late Qing; Electrical knowledge; Bo Wu Tong Shu; Dian Xue Gang Mu; History of modern Chinese physics
Author:
SUN Yifan
Issue:Volume 46, lssue 8, August 2024
Page: 121-126
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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.
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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