Title
Author
Keywords
JOURNAL OF DIALECTICS OF NATURE
A Comprehensive, Academic Journal of the Philosophy, History, Sociology and Cultural Studies of Science and Technology
English
Chinese
Home
Browse
Published ahead of Print
Latest Issue
More Content
Purchase
Submit
Sign up/in
Author Guidelines
About Us
About the Journal
Editorial Board
Conference
Home
Browse
Published ahead of Print
Latest Issue
More Content
Purchase
Submit
Sign up/in
Author Guidelines
About Us
About the Journal
Editorial Board
Conference
Latest Articles
View all
Multidimensional Transformation: A Methodological Study on Philosophy of AI
Abstract: The rapid development of modern AI technology has shifted philosophical research from traditional metaphysical speculation to more practical methodological reconstruction, marking a profound transformation of philosophy of AI from conceptual analysis to an engineering philosophy paradigm. Confronted with fundamental differences between AI and human intelligence, the complexity of technological systems, and the dynamic nature of intelligent generation, it is essential to systematically explore the methodological innovations in philosophy of AI across multiple dimensions: types of intelligence, research paradigms, and the philosophy of scientific experimentation. We argue that the innovations include the adoption of a multidimensional perspective on types of intelligence, a paradigm shift to a systematic, generative, and contingency-sensitive engineering philosophy, and a new mindset based on fallibility, complexity, and openness. By generalizing the concept of space through the interpretive framework of signifier topology and folded spatial concepts, research in philosophy of AI can also reshape intelligence. This approach not only addresses the theoretical challenges posed by technological practice to philosophy but also opens new avenues for intelligent cognition in the “post-human” era. Key Words: Philosophy of AI; Types of intelligence; Philosophy of engineering; Philosophy of scientific experimentation; Research paradigm
Author:
JIANG Yi
LI Zhenxin
Issue:Volume 48, lssue 8, August 2026
Page: 1-8
The Body-Related Controversy in Embodied Cognition: An Analysis of the Dreyfus-Collins Debate
Abstract: Against the backdrop of the embodied turn in cognitive science, Hubert Dreyfus and Harry Collins engaged in a sustained and in-depth debate over the role of the body in intelligent behavior. Based on the phenomenological tradition, Dreyfus argued that human cognition is inherently embodied and situated. Collins, from a sociological perspective, contended that social practices, rather than the biological body, constitute the core of human cognition. This paper begins by tracing the origins of the debate and analyzes the theoretical divergences between the two scholars from epistemological, ontological, and methodological perspectives. It concludes with a critical reflection aimed at uncovering the substantive implications of this debate and its contemporary significance in the age of artificial intelligence. Key Words: Embodied cognition; Body; Intelligence; Dreyfus; Collins
Author:
GUO Qi
Issue:Volume 48, lssue 8, August 2026
Page: 26-32
From Germanium to Silicon Transistors: The Early Development of Semiconductor Technology in China
Abstract: The “Four Urgent Measures” proposed in the 1956 “12-Year Long-Term Plan” were supplementary measures for the “Two Bombs” Project. As one of the “Four Urgent Measures”, the development of semiconductor technology focused on transistors. Centered on Task 40, “Establishment of Semiconductor Technology”, and on the “Four Urgent Measures”, this paper examines the connection between transistor development and the “Two Bombs” Project, as well as the reasons for the rapid transition of China’s semiconductor technology from germanium to silicon. The paper points out that, driven by the “Two Bombs” Project and centered on the development of the 109B, 109C, and 156 machines, China’s semiconductor technology achieved a rapid transition from germanium transistors to silicon transistors and established a solid foundation for the development of integrated circuits. The driving force behind this rapid transition was the urgent need for national defense modernization. With strong support from the state, scientists returning from Europe and the United States made tremendous efforts toward this goal. There was also influence and assistance from the Soviet Union prior to 1960. Key Words: “Two Bombs” Project; “12-Year Long-Term Plan”; Germanium transistor; Silicon transistor; Semiconductor technology
Author:
NING Xiaoyu
DAI Lingqing
Issue:Volume 48, lssue 8, August 2026
Page: 67-75
Experimentalist Governance: The Development of Artificial Intelligence Innovation and the Reform of Governance Modes
Abstract: Artificial intelligence has been deeply integrated into various industries and realms of the economy and society, reshaping the mode of production and life and driving a leap in productivity as well as a deep change in production relations. As a new governance paradigm for addressing complexity and uncertainty, experimentalist governance takes experimentation as its core logic and possesses characteristics including multi-stakeholder collaboration, flexible and dynamic governance bases, cumulative and iterative governance processes, and controlled but innovative governance outcomes. To effectively balance technological innovation and risk mitigation, and promote the healthy and orderly development of AI in the direction of advancing the common well-being of humanity, China needs to establish an experimentalist governance system for AI. This involves setting up a tripartite system of governance featuring goals of sustainable innovation, controllable risks, and malleable values; improving a multi-stakeholder collaborative governance structure with government coordination, enterprise leadership, scientific research support, and public participation; and refining governance mechanisms of risk management, information communication, rights protection, and liability exemption. Key Words: Artificial intelligence; Experimentalist governance; Complex adaptive systems; Human-centered approach; Risk management mechanisms
Author:
XU Lei
Issue:Volume 48, lssue 8, August 2026
Page: 97-108
From Family Legacy to Personal Achievement: The Scientific Story of Irène Joliot-Curie
Abstract: Irène Joliot-Curie was a great female radiochemist of the 20th century. She began working at her mother’s Radium Institute at the age of 21 and married Frédéric Joliot in 1926. They cooperated on nuclear research. Although they missed many major discoveries, they finally discovered artificial radioactivity, for which they won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1935. This discovery promoted the wide application of radioisotopes in medicine and other fields. In addition to her scientific research contributions, Irène also actively participated in social activities, calling for women’s rights and world peace. She helped establish the French National Research Center and was an outstanding feminist and social activist. Key Words: Irène Joliot-Curie; Radioactive science; Female scientists
Author:
CHENG Peng
CUI He
ZHANG Zhihui
Issue:Volume 48, lssue 8, August 2026
Page: 118-126
Hot Articles
View all
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.
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
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
New Perspectives on the History of British Science from the 17th to the 19th Centuries AGENDA
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
View all >
Outside Links
Peer Publications
View all >
Institutions and Societies
View all >
JOURNAL OF DIALECTICS OF NATURE
About the Journal
Submit
Author Guidelines
Purchase Information
Help
Contact Us
Address: No.19A Yuquan Road, Beijing, 100049, China
Phone: +86-10-88256007
Email:
jdn@ucas.ac.cn
Follow Us
© 2014 Copyright of the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences
© 2014 Copyright of the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences