Electroencephalogram has been widely utilized in emotion recognition. Psychologists have found that emotions can be divided into conscious emotion and unconscious emotion. In this article, we explore to classify subliminal emotions with EEG signals elicited by subliminal face stimulation, that is to select appropriate features to classify subliminal emotions. First, multi-scale sample entropy, wavelet packet energy, and wavelet packet entropy of EEG signals are extracted. Then, these features are fed into the decision tree and improved random forest, respectively. The classification (...) accuracy with Ei and WpEn is higher than MSpEn, which shows that Ei and WpEn can be used as effective features to classify subliminal emotions. We compared the classification results of different features combined with the decision tree algorithm and the improved random forest algorithm. The experimental results indicate that the improved random forest algorithm attains the best classification accuracy for subliminal emotions. Finally, subliminal emotions and physiological proof of subliminal affective priming effect are discussed. (shrink)

Computer technology and related Internet of things technology have penetrated into people’s daily life and industrial production; even in competitive sports training and competition, the Internet of things technology has also been a large number of applications. Traditional intelligent wearable devices are mainly used to calculate the steps of athletes or sports enthusiasts, corresponding physical data, and corresponding body indicators. The energy consumption calculated by these indexes is rough and the corresponding error is large. Based on this, this paper will (...) design a wearable device which can accurately calculate and monitor sports energy consumption based on relevant sensors and Internet of things technology. The corresponding core algorithm is the step counting algorithm, which can accurately calculate the relationship between human motion and the corresponding energy consumption and feed back to the intelligent device. In the experiment, the wearable device designed in this paper is compared with the traditional intelligent device. The experiment shows that the wearable device proposed in this paper is more accurate in energy consumption estimation than the traditional device, and its corresponding energy consumption is relatively small. (shrink)

Denton and Hockx present thirteen essays treating a variety of literary organizations from China's Republican era . Interdisciplinary in approach, the essays are primarily concerned with describing and analyzing the social and cultural complexity of literary groupings and the role of these social formations in literary production of the period.

Because the traditional social media fuzzy static image interactive three-dimensional (3D) reconstruction method has the problem of poor reconstruction completeness and long reconstruction time, the social media fuzzy static image interactive 3D reconstruction method is proposed. For preprocessing the fuzzy static image of social media, the Harris corner detection method is used to extract the feature points of the preprocessed fuzzy static image of social media. According to the extraction results, the parameter estimation algorithm of contrast divergence is used to (...) learn the restricted Boltzmann machine (RBM) network model, and the RBM network model is divided into input, output, and hidden layers. By combining the RBM-based joint dictionary learning method and a sparse representation model, an interactive 3D reconstruction of fuzzy static images in social media is achieved. Experimental results based on the CAD software show that the proposed method has a reconstruction completeness of above 95% and the reconstruction time is less than 15 s, improving the completeness and efficiency of the reconstruction, effectively reconstructing the fuzzy static images in social media, and increasing the sense of reality of social media images. (shrink)

In the years since its introduction, Edward Said’s celebrated study Orientalism has acquired a near-paradigmatic status as a model of the relationships between Western and non-Western cultures. Said seeks to show how Western imperialist images of its colonial others—images that, of course, are inevitably and sharply at odds with the self-understanding of the indigenous non-Western cultures they purport to represent—not only govern the West’s hegemonic policies, but were imported into the West’s political and cultural colonies where they affected native points (...) of view and thus served as instruments of domination themselves. Said’s focus is on the Near East, but his critics and supporters alike have extended his model far beyond the confines of that part of the world. Despite the popularity of Said’s model, however, comparatists and sinologists have yet to make extensive use of it in their attempts to define China’s self-image or the nature of the Sino-Western social, cultural, and political relationships. Xiaomei Chen is assistant professor of Chinese and comparative literature at Ohio State University. She has recently completed a book on the politics of cross-cultural “misunderstanding” in modern China and the West, and is now working on a cultural study of post-Mao Chinese theater. (shrink)

Individuals often prefer information that matches their needs. In this study, we aimed to explore the relationship between regulatory focus and information preference. Specifically, we investigated the effects of promotion-focused information and prevention-focused information on explicit and implicit information preferences and choice behavior, and examined the mediating roles of information preference. In Experiment 1, we found that prevention-focused individuals were more likely to choose functional information, whereas promotion-focused people were more likely to choose hedonic information. However, there was no significant (...) relationship between regulatory focus and explicit preference and no mediating effect of explicit information preference. In Experiment 2, we found that promotion-focused individuals had a greater implicit preference for hedonic information than did prevention-focused individuals. Implicit information preference mediated the influence of regulatory focus on information choice. The findings of this study may help us understand the psychological mechanism underlying information preference and have important implications for information dissemination. (shrink)

Since Leibniz first put forward the sufficient reason law in his philosophical work "The Monadology" (1914), the issue of the law of sufficient reason has aroused heated discussions in the field of logic in our country. The question of whether the law of sufficient reason is the basic law of formal logic was particularly heated in the domestic logic circle in 1978-1980. Since then, there has been little discussion, but from the newly compiled formal logic textbooks published one after another, (...) no consensus has been reached. Although they didn't agree on the question of "whether or not", the two sides elaborated their arguments in detail and put forward some new opinions, thus creating new conditions for solving this problem scientifically. Firstly, this paper analyzes the different viewpoints of both sides of the argument. Secondly, it analyzes whether the law of sufficient reason is the basic law of formal logic from whether Leibniz put forward the law of sufficient reason. Finally, on this basis, a new transformation method is put forward. After this transformation, the law of sufficient reason is an important basic law of deductive logic, which can be juxtaposed with the other three logical laws, such as identity, and coordinated with the "three laws" and complement each other. (shrink)

Cognitive diagnostic models show great promise in language assessment for providing rich diagnostic information. The lack of a full understanding of second language listening subskills made model selection difficult. In search of optimal CDM that could provide a better understanding of L2 listening subskills and facilitate accurate classification, this study carried a two-layer model selection. At the test level, A-CDM, LLM, and R-RUM had an acceptable and comparable model fit, suggesting mixed inter-attribute relationships of L2 listening subskills. At the item (...) level, Mixed-CDMs were selected and confirmed the existence of mixed relationships. Mixed-CDMs had better model and person fit than G-DNIA. In addition to statistical approaches, the content analysis provided theoretical evidence to confirm and amend the item-level CDMs. It was found that semantic completeness pertaining to the attributes and item features may influence the attribute relationships. Inexplicable attribute conflicts could be a signal of suboptimal model choice. Sample size and the number of multi-attribute items should be taken into account in L2 listening cognitive diagnostic modeling studies. This study provides useful insights into the model selection and the underlying cognitive process for L2 listening tests. (shrink)

Assisted reproductive technology is a complex medical intervention with many potential social sensitivities. Within this domain, oocyte cryopreservation has emerged as an important research area for preserving female fertility. Against the backdrop of the hotly debated first legal case in China of a single woman wishing to freeze her eggs, and the implementation of the ‘three‐child policy’ in China, there is an urgent need to evaluate policies and address ethical considerations surrounding oocyte cryopreservation for non‐medical reasons. This review examines current (...) policies, explores China's practices and research, and examines the latest ethical challenges surrounding non‐medical oocyte cryopreservation. It develops strategies and recommendations that will be relevant in China and other developing countries seeking to navigate this complex landscape. (shrink)

Aesthetic medicine has become a booming industry in the world. However, there are widespread social and health risks posed by aesthetic medicine, including illegal practice, and misleading information from aesthetic medicine institutes. Social media and advertisement play important roles in leading to appearance anxiety among young people nowadays. Regarding the chaotic situation in the aesthetic medical field, there is a fact that the practice of aesthetic medicine has been marginally regulated, even in some developed countries. China has the largest population (...) in the world as well as the large number of aesthetic medical customers. Regarding the protection of people from harm, there is a great challenge for the Chinese government. So, China has enacted the toughest governance these years both on the supply and demand side. Some of the strategies may be useful for health authorities in certain countries. (shrink)

With the rapid growth of information technology and sports, analyzing sports information has become an increasingly challenging issue. Sports big data come from the Internet and show a rapid growth trend. Sports big data contain rich information such as athletes, coaches, athletics, and swimming. Nowadays, various sports data can be easily accessed, and amazing data analysis technologies have been developed, which enable us to further explore the value behind these data. In this paper, we first introduce the background of sports (...) big data. Secondly, we review sports big data management such as sports big data acquisition, sports big data labeling, and improvement of existing data. Thirdly, we show sports data analysis methods, including statistical analysis, sports social network analysis, and sports big data analysis service platform. Furthermore, we describe the sports big data applications such as evaluation and prediction. Finally, we investigate representative research issues in sports big data areas, including predicting the athletes’ performance in the knowledge graph, finding a rising star of sports, unified sports big data platform, open sports big data, and privacy protections. This paper should help the researchers obtaining a broader understanding of sports big data and provide some potential research directions. (shrink)

Chinese philosophy of religion is a less discussed and less clearly formed area in the study of Chinese philosophy. It is true that there is virtually no discussion in Chinese philosophy about rationality or justification of religious beliefs comparable to the discussion of the same issues in Western philosophy of religion. The inquiry about rationality and justification of religious beliefs has shaped Western philosophy of religion. However, the scope of philosophy of religion in the Western context has been widened since (...) Hume and Kant. When the West began to be exposed to non-Western religions, philosophical reflection on non-Western religions is also brought into the scope of philosophy of Religion. We can expect that the concept of religion will become much broader, the scope of philosophy of religion will expand and new issues, especially, issues concerning specific and non-Western religions, will be framed. When we look at philosophy of religion in a broad sense, the field of Chinese philosophy of religion begins to emerge. In this survey paper, I will focus on several issues which, in a broad sense of philosophy of religion, can be construed as the issues of Chinese philosophy of religion. One of the issues is about the religiosity of Confucianism. The second issue is about the concept of Tian. The third is the issue regarding the origin and nature of Chinese state religion and its characteristics which also have caught the attention of scholars, especially, in China. Is Confucianism a religion? How should we construe the religiosity of Confucianism if it does have a religious dimension? Is Tian a theological term? How does Tian differ from Western God? Is the sacrifice to Tian religious and a form of monotheism? What is the nature of state religion in traditional China? What is the relation between the state religion and Confucianism in traditional China? The debates on the issues addressing these questions will be introduced and discussed in this paper. (shrink)

In this article, I examine two conflicting readings of Zhuangzi's butterfly dream story in the second chapter of the book named after him: the internal transformation and the external transformation reading. I argue that the external interpretation is better supported by the theme of the second chapter and stories in the second chapter and other chapters. However, I argue, the internal transformation interpretation does not necessarily contradict the external transformation interpretation; rather, it reinforces the external transformation interpretation if we give (...) a different reading to the content of the internal transformation interpretation. (shrink)

This is a discussion of the reaction to the recent research article publication in the journal Protein & Cell by a group of scientists at Sun Yat-sen University using the CRISPR/Cas9 technique on editing non-viable human zygotes. Many commentators condemned the Chinese scientists for overstepping ethical boundaries long accepted in Western countries and accused China of having lax regulations on genomic research in general. We argue that not only did this research follow strict ethical standards and fully comply with current (...) regulations, but China also has a well-developed regulatory framework governing such research comparable to many developed countries. We see the reactions among Western commentators as a misunderstanding of the current situation and an expression of a lack of willingness to acknowledge China as an equal partner in the international debate about proper limits to the development of new biotechnologies. (shrink)

To assist Chinese high school students in improving their career readiness and tackling career decision-making difficulties, we designed a synchronous online career intervention based on the Cognitive Information Processing theory during the Covid-19 pandemic. The online career intervention consisted of a series of career courses to develop high school students’ knowledge and skills in career planning, career assessments for exploring their vocational interests and academic self-concept, and a database providing basic information about university majors. To evaluate the intervention’s effectiveness, 957 (...) 10th grade students were recruited in the study, 601 participants were randomly assigned to the experimental group, and 356 participants were randomly assigned to the control group. All participants completed a pre- and post-intervention assessment of their career maturity, vocational identity and career decision-making difficulties. Results indicated that the online intervention significantly increased high school students’ career readiness and reduced their career decision-making difficulties. The practical implications of this research for online career interventions directed at Chinese high school students are also discussed. (shrink)

Finding meaning in our lives is a central tenet to the human experience and a core contributor to mental health. Individuals tend to actively seek the sources of meaning in their lives or consciously enact efforts to create or “craft” meaning in different life domains. These overall “Life Crafting” behaviors refer to the conscious efforts individuals exert to create meaning in their lives through cognitively framing how they view life, seeking social support systems to manage life challenges, and actively seeking (...) challenges to facilitate personal growth. Specifically, these behaviors are actioned to better align life goals, personal needs, values, and capabilities. However, no psychological assessment instrument currently exists to measure overall life crafting. As such, the purpose of this paper was twofold: to conceptualize life crafting and to develop, validate and evaluate a robust measure of overall life crafting. A mixed-method, multi-study research design was employed. First, nine participants were interviewed to determine the methods or techniques used to craft meaningful life experiences. These methods/techniques were used as indicators to create an initial item pool which was then reviewed by a panel of experts to ensure face validity. Second, in Study 1, the factorial structure of the instrument was explored by gathering data from a convenience sample, with the results showing support for a three-factor structure of life crafting, consisting of cognitive crafting, seeking social support, and seeking challenges. Finally, in Study 2, the aim was to confirm the factorial structure of the Life Crafting scale and to determine its level of internal consistency, partial measurement invariance across genders, and criterion validity [meaning in life, mental health, work engagement, and job burnout ]. The results supported a second-order factorial model of Life Crafting, which comprised of three first-order factors. Therefore, the Life Crafting Scale can be used as a valid and reliable instrument to measure- and track the effectiveness of life crafting interventions. (shrink)

This chapter narrates the author's fascination with the intriguing and elusive face and image of Hannah Arendt—as well as her life story. Experience and world events transformed her inner and outer appearance, etching her life story on her face. Her life story was that of an intellectual Jewish woman who experienced the European turmoil of the 20th century and tried to understand the sources of human evil and violence. The author traced her portrait from a very young woman to her (...) old age. The source materials included unfamiliar photos of Arendt at different stages of her life. (shrink)

No one denies the importance of applying knowledge to actions. But claiming identity (unity) of knowledge and action is quite another thing. There seem to be two problems with the claim: (1) the identity claim implies that the sole cause for one to fail to act on what one judges to be right is ignorance, but it is obviously false that the sole cause of failure in moral actions is ignorance. (2) The identity statement implies non-separation of knowledge and action. (...) But knowledge does not necessarily lead to action. However, the identity of knowledge and action is what a famous Ming Confucian scholar, W ang Yang-ming, proposed and the concept became the central doctrine of his teaching. Though there are several major interpretations of Wang’s doctrine in contemporary literature, it is not clear to me how they deal with the above mentioned difficulties. In this article, I will discuss these interpretations of the doctrine and propose a new interpretation. My purpose is to give an interpretation of Wang’s doctrine that has the capacity of dealing with these challenges to the doctrine and also captures the essence of his teaching. (shrink)

The popularization of intelligent machines such as service robot and industrial robot will make human–machine interaction, an essential work mode. This requires employees to adapt to the new work content through learning. However, the research involved human–machine interaction that how influences the employee’s learning is still rarely. This paper was to reveal the relationship between human–machine interaction and employee’s learning from the perspective of job characteristics and competence perception of employees. We sent questionnaire to 500 employees from 100 artificial intelligence (...) companies in China and received 319 valid and complete responses. Then, we adopted a hierarchical regression for the test. Empirical results show that human–machine interaction has a U-shaped curvilinear relationship with employee learning, and employee’s vitality mediates the curvilinear relationship. In addition, job characteristics moderate the U-shaped curvilinear relationship between human–machine interaction and employee’s vitality, especially the results of moderating effects varying with employee’s competence perception. Exploring the mechanism of the effect of human–machine interaction on employee’s learning enriches the socially embedded model. Moreover, it provides managerial implications how to enhance individual adaptability with the introduction of AI into firms. However, our research focuses more on the impact of human–machine interaction on employees at the initial stage of AI development, and the level of machine intelligence in various industries will reach a high degree of autonomy in the future. The future research can explore the impact of human–machine interaction on individual’s behavior at different stages, and the results may vary depending on the technologies mastered by different individuals. The study has theoretical and practical significance to human–machine interaction literature by underscoring the important of individual’s behavior among individuals with different skills. (shrink)

Abstract:Zhejiang's aesthetic education has developed rapidly in recent years, especially in the context of global aesthetic education that promotes the integration of noble culture with popular culture and emphasizes diversity, compromise, and reproducibility. In light of this year's high reexamination of aesthetic education by the country, provinces, and cities, aesthetic education has been elevated to a new level. However, existing aesthetic education still has problems, such as the indistinguishability of aesthetic education and art education concepts, the one-sidedness of aesthetic education (...) content, and the shortage of aesthetic education teachers. These problems have long affected the development of Zhejiang's aesthetic education. The issue of promoting aesthetic education has become a major concern for aesthetic education teachers throughout the province and even the country. Therefore, this article focuses on the current situation and problems of Zhejiang's aesthetic education. A comparison of the current status and achievements of Taiwan's aesthetic education with Zhejiang, drawing on each other's experience, learning from each other's strengths and weaknesses, and in-depth research on teachers' performance in aesthetic education, aesthetic education training programs, and campus cultural construction, and other aspects is put forward. A series of implementation plans for the promotion of aesthetic education, such as "synergy training" and "education of people with a view," was provided as a practical experiment and a theoretical reference for promoting the rapid development of aesthetic education in the country. (shrink)

This book unravels China's contemporary Confucian Renaissance, delving into the interplay between universal and nationalist ideas and offering insightful case studies on Confucian metaphysics, ethics, and politics.

孙子一书,即孙子兵法,该书以其睿智而富有思辨性,反映了春秋末期,战国初年社会变革的历史,总结了一套科学,实用的系统军事理论.

Plato's theory of knowledge and belief is an important topic in Platonic scholarship. There are at least two interpretations of Plato's theory of knowledge and belief. (a) The two worlds (or objects) interpretation (TW), and it has two versions: the degree of existence interpretation (DE) and the degree of reality interpretation (DR). According to DE, objects of knowledge fully exist, and objects of belief do not fully exist. According to DR, objects of knowledge are fully real, and objects of belief (...) are not fully real. The main claim of TW is: knowledge and belief range over different objects; knowl­edge ranges over Forms,·and belief ranges over the sensibles. This claim implies that we can have knowledge only of Forms, and belief only of the sensibles. The second interpretation of Plato's theory is b), the content interpretation. There are two versions of the content interpretation. First, there is the degrees of truth (DT) or individual truth version: Knowledge is set over truth, and belief is set over partial truth. Second, there is Fine's collective truth version (CT). The main claim of CT is that: knowledge collects truths (i.e., knowledge entails truth), and that belief collects truths and falsehoods (i.e., some beliefs are true and some are false). This claim implies that knowledge and belief are not always set over different things, i.e., we can have knowledge of the sensibles, and beliefs of Forms. TW is obviously incompatible with CT. It is surprising that little defense of TW has been given following Fine's objection to TW. In this paper, TW will be defended, and it will be argued that CT is not a correct reading of Plato. (shrink)

Abstract Though issues concerning moral philosophy in the classic or pre-Qin period have been the central issues in the contemporary literature on pre-Qin philosophy, the issues concerning the concept of reason, the role of reason, and the relation between reason and emotion in moral psychology have not been given an extensive discussion. In Western tradition, moral psychology centers on the contrast between reason and desire/emotion, and no one disputes that the concept of reason and the contrast between reason and emotion/desire (...) play a central role in moral psychology. However, it is not clear and controversial as well whether moral psychology in classic Chinese philosophy also employs the concept of reason and operates on the contrast between reason and emotion/desire. In this paper, the author explores the issue of whether pre-Qin moral psychology employs the concept of reason that resembles the Western concept of reason and operates on the contrast between rea­son and emotion/desire. Chad Hansen is one of a few philosophers who have given an extensive discussion of the issue concerning the concept of reason in the Chinese context. Hansen has argued that classic Chinese philosophy lacks a theory of reason , and thus a concept of reason and the contrast between reason and desire or emotion in its model of human psychology. Hansen's works emphasize the differences between the Western philosophical discourse and the classic Chinese philosophical discourse. The purpose of the author in this paper is to explore similari­ties between two discourses with respect to moral psychology. There may be significant differences between the Western and the Chinese philosophical discourse, but where we locate the differences is not dic­tated by the fact that there are differences and should not render the Chinese philosophical discourse less plausible. (shrink)

Kant has argued that moral requirements are categorical. Kant's claim has been challenged by some contemporary philosophers; this article defends Kant's doctrine. I argue that Kant's claim captures the unique feature of moral requirements. The main arguments against Kant's claim focus on one condition that a categorical imperative must meet: to be independent of desires. I argue that there is another important, but often ignored, condition that a categorical imperative must meet, and this second condition is crucial to understanding why (...) moral requirements are not hypothetical. I also argue that the claim that moral requirements are not categorical because they depend on desires for motivation is beside the point. The issue of whether moral requirements are categorical is not an issue about whether moral desires or feelings are necessary for moral motivation but are rather an issue about the ground of moral desires or moral feelings. Moral requirements are categorical because they are requirements of reason, and reason makes moral desires or feelings possible. (shrink)

It is an assumed view in Chinese philosophy that the grammatical differences between English or Indo-European languages and classical Chinese explain some of the differences between the Western and Chinese philosophical discourses. Although some philosophers have expressed doubts about the general link between classical Chinese philosophy and syntactic form of classical Chinese, I discuss a specific hypothesis, i.e., the mass-noun hypothesis, in this essay. The mass-noun hypothesis assumes that a linguistic distinction such as between the singular terms and the predicates (...) is sufficient to justify or necessarily leads to a specific ontological distinction such as the distinction between the particular and the universal. I argue that one cannot read off semantic properties simply from syntactic ones and hence the syntactic differences do not automatically translate into the semantic differences between languages, that the syntactic features of Chinese nouns do not have explanatory significance in explaining why the particular-universal problem does not arise in the classical period of Chinese philosophy, and that the part-whole ontology allegedly informed by the mass-noun-like semantics does not provide a natural or intuitive picture of the language-world relation. (shrink)

In this article, I introduce a new interpretation of the puzzling thesis “bai 白 ma 馬 fei 非 ma 馬 ” argued by Gongsun Long 公孫龍 in his essay “On White Horse.” I argue that previous interpretations, which can be grouped under the name of “attribute-object interpretations,” are not satisfactory, and that the thesis on the new interpretation is not about attributes or objects, but about names. My argument focuses on the disagreement over inseparability of white between Gongsun Long and (...) his interlocutor in the text of “On White Horse.” On my interpretation or the name interpretation, the disagreement is about whether constituents of a syntactically complex or multi-term name are separable or have their contextually independent meanings. Gongsun Long’s thesis makes perfect sense on my interpretation, and is supported by the text and other preserved texts collected in GongsunLong Zi 公孫龍子. The name interpretation can also make sense of some puzzling expressions of sophists in the classic period. (shrink)

In this paper, I examine whether Hume's view on personal identity is skeptical or not. the controversy stems from the question of whether, according to Hume, we can find a condition for a kind of real identity which a changing object satisfies. I argue that Hume holds a skeptical view on personal identity and his skepticism rests on his two principles: 1) all our perceptions are distinct; 2) we never perceive any real connection among objects.

In this response to Frisina's response, I discuss four general disagreements between Frisina's and my understanding of Wang Yangming's doctrine of unity of knowledge and action. 1) The first disagreement is about whether Wang's concept "innate knowledge" (良知) is an instinctive and non-reflective (or "primordial"/"pre-cognitive") experience. 2) The second disagreement is about whether Wang's unity doctrine applies to other forms of knowledge or applies to only moral knowledge. 3) The third disagreement is about whether the pre-cognitive experiences/responses are similar to (...) action. 4) The fourth disagreement is about whether a meaningful distinction between physical activity and mental activity can be made without undermining Wang's unity doctrine. (shrink)

What is the nature of moral judgments? This question can be asked in a more specific way: When one sincerely utters a moral judgment, what does one express? A belief the content of which represents moral facts or properties, and is truth-apt, or a non-cognitive attitude the content of which does not represent moral facts or properties, and is not truth-apt? If moral judgments assert moral facts or properties, what are moral facts or properties? If moral judgments express beliefs, how (...) can they be motivational? ;Philosophers give different answers to the above questions. Expressivism and descriptivism are two main views about the nature of moral judgments. This dissertation addresses not only the debate between expressivism and descriptivism, but also the debate between naturalism and non-naturalism about moral properties and the epistemological source of moral judgments, and the debate between rationalism and anti-rationalism about the practical source of moral judgments. ;One of main objections to descriptivism is that expressivism can do better in explaining the metaphysics of moral features, say why it is a conceptual truth that moral properties supervene on natural properties. Another main objection to descriptivism, is that expressivism better explains the practical source of moral judgments. According to expressivism, moral judgments express some motivational non-cognitive attitudes, say desires. There are two approaches to defending descriptivism: the naturalistic and the non-naturalistic. ;This dissertation develops a non-naturalistic realist, cognitivist, and rationalist view of the nature of moral properties and moral judgments. My overall point is that the expressivist attacks on descriptivism are unsuccessful. A realist non-naturalism can explain the ontological data, e.g. supervenience, the epistemological data, e.g. non-inferential justification, and the data of moral psychology, especially the motivational power of moral judgments. My conclusion is that when one sincerely utters a true moral judgment, one expresses a belief the content of which represents normative facts. (shrink)

Wang Yangming believes that human nature is entirely good. A question naturally arises: where is evil from? It has been argued that Wang’s idealism gives rise to the problem of evil. I first argue...

Abstract In recent years, Situationism in psychology has caught the attention of philosophers. Some have defended it. Some have argued against it. The Situationist has challenged the traditional view shared by personality psychology and virtue ethics that people differ in terms of character or character traits and that we can explain and predict people’s behavior by character traits people have. Previous responses to Situationism try to show that experiments from social psychology do not undermine the traditional view. I agree and (...) will further argue that the fact that experiments do not undermine the traditional view is not sufficient to warrant the attribution of character traits, and that some philosophical arguments are needed given that no empirical data that show a high degree of behavioral consistency are available. I first offer an account of the ordinary attribution of character traits according to which having character traits is a matter of degree. Second, I argue that although situational factors play some role in explaining and predicting behavior, the attribution of character traits plays a primary and indispensable role. Third, I argue that the ordinary attribution of character traits has important functions in our moral life, which cannot be fulfilled by the attribution of local traits suggested by the Situationist. I also argue that the ethical management of situations recommended by the Situationist can help in getting things right, but is not sufficient to be the adequate foundation for our normative discourse. (shrink)

This article documents the results of a study on the perceptions of long-term elder care in Beijing in the People's Republic of China by those most intimately involved. The study asked a sample of elderly, family members, and health care professionals, all of whom are involved in care at a variety of long-term care facilities in Beijing, about their perceptions of the care given at these facilities from their particular standpoints as regards issues such as the quality and ideal location (...) of care, decision-making regarding the care receiving, who should be responsible for the financing of care, and the meaning of dignity for the elderly in these facilities. The results showed adherence to traditional family values at least on one level regarding the ideal location of care being with the family and in the home, but also the desire to pass on financing of long-term care facilities and the health care they provide the elderly on to the government. These results are not altogether surprising, but they also clearly demonstrate the larger conflict between traditional views about morality and economic considerations regarding health care financing in the China. (shrink)

A comparative study of Tibetan Buddhist logic and Aristotelian logic of argument.