If the Past Hypothesis underlies the arrows of time, what is the status of the Past Hypothesis? In this paper, I examine the role of the Past Hypothesis in the Boltzmannian account and defend the view that the Past Hypothesis is a candidate fundamental law of nature. Such a view is known to be compatible with Humeanism about laws, but as I argue it is also supported by a minimal non-Humean "governing'' view. Some worries arise from the non-dynamical and time-dependent (...) character of the Past Hypothesis as a boundary condition, the intrinsic vagueness in its specification, and the nature of the initial probability distribution. I show that these worries do not have much force, and in any case they become less relevant in a new quantum framework for analyzing time's arrows---the Wentaculus. Hence, the view that the Past Hypothesis is a candidate fundamental law should be more widely accepted than it is now. (shrink)

The Great Divide in metaphysical debates about laws of nature is between Humeans, who think that laws merely describe the distribution of matter, and non-Humeans, who think that laws govern it. The metaphysics can place demands on the proper formulations of physical theories. It is sometimes assumed that the governing view requires a fundamental / intrinsic direction of time: to govern, laws must be dynamical, producing later states of the world from earlier ones, in accord with the fundamental direction of (...) time in the universe. In this paper, we propose a minimal primitivism about laws of nature (MinP) according to which there is no such requirement. On our view, laws govern by constraining the physical possibilities. Our view captures the essence of the governing view without taking on extraneous commitments about the direction of time or dynamic production. Moreover, as a version of primitivism, our view requires no reduction / analysis of laws in terms of universals, powers, or dispositions. Our view accommodates several potential candidates for fundamental laws, including the principle of least action, the Past Hypothesis, the Einstein equation of general relativity, and even controversial examples found in the Wheeler-Feynman theory of electrodynamics and retrocausal theories of quantum mechanics. By understanding governing as constraining, non-Humeans who accept MinP have the same freedom to contemplate a wide variety of candidate fundamental laws as Humeans do. (shrink)

In this paper, I characterize and elaborate on the “Wentaculus” theory, a new approach to time’s arrow in a quantum universe that offers a unified solution to the problems of what gives rise to the arrow of time and what the ontology of quantum mechanics is.

In their forthcoming article, ‘What makes a medical intervention invasive?’ De Marco, Simons, and colleagues explore the meaning and usage of the term ‘invasive’ in medical contexts. They describe a ‘Standard Account’, drawn from dictionary definitions, which defines invasiveness as ‘incision of the skin or insertion of an object into the body’. They then highlight cases wherein invasiveness is employed in a manner that is inconsistent with this account (eg, in describing psychotherapy) to argue that the term invasiveness is often (...) used to explicitly or implicitly reference interventions that do not fall under the standard account. The authors offer an alternative ‘schematic’ definition of invasiveness, whereby medical interventions entail an underlying context-independent property of ‘basic invasiveness’ and may be understood both relative to each other and to a context-specific threshold of what is ‘invasive’. 1 We propose that the meaning of terms such as ‘invasiveness’ is necessarily heterogeneous,... (shrink)

Di 1 bian. Kongzi si xiang ji lun yu -- di 2 bian. Mengzi si xiang ji Meng Xun tong yi -- di 3 bian. Gaozi si xiang -- di 4 bian. Ming li -- di 5 bian. Jiao yu xiu yang Wen hua.

Drawing on the core values of western civilization, the author refines the counterparts in Chinese civilization, summarized as four core principles: duty before freedom, obedience before rights, community before individual, and harmony before conflict. Focusing on guoxue or Sinology as the basis of his approach, the author provides detailed explanations of traditional Chinese values. Recent scholars have addressed the concept of guoxue since the modern age, sorting through it and piecing it together, which has produced an extremely abundant range of (...) information. However, given that the concepts and theories involved have been left largely unanalyzed, this book develops a theoretical treatment of them in several important respects. First, it analyzes the mindset of guoxue, examining the dominant ideas and values of the era from which the term "guoxue" arose, focusing on its connection to early changes and trends in society and culture, and distinguishing three key phases of development. Past scholars mainly had in mind the range of objects studied in guoxue when defining it, and what this book underscores is the meaning of guoxue as a modern body of research. Secondly, it assesses several phases in the modern evolution of the body of guoxue research from the beginning to the end of the 20th century, id est, ending with the later phase of the National Heritage movement. Third and lastly, the book explores the various main modes of modern guoxue, which correspond step by step with the evolutionary phases of guoxue research. (shrink)

Human behavior depends on the ability to effectively introspect about our performance. For simple perceptual decisions, this introspective or metacognitive ability varies substantially across individuals and is correlated with the structure of focal areas in prefrontal cortex. This raises the possibility that the ability to introspect about different perceptual decisions might be mediated by a common cognitive process. To test this hypothesis, we examined whether inter-individual differences in metacognitive ability were correlated across two different perceptual tasks where individuals made judgments (...) about different and unrelated visual stimulus properties. We found that inter-individual differences were strongly correlated between the two tasks for metacognitive ability but not objective performance. Such stability of an individual’s metacognitive ability across different perceptual tasks indicates a general mechanism supporting metacognition independent of the specific task. (shrink)

In the contemporary epistemological literature, peer disagreement is often taken to be an instance of a more general phenomenon of “higher-order evidence.” Correspondingly, its epistemic significance is often thought to turn on the epistemic significance of higher-order evidence in general. This chapter attempts to evaluate this claim, and in doing so to clarify some points of unclarity in the current literature – both about what it is for evidence to be “higher-order,” and about the relationship between disagreement and higher-order evidence. (...) We will begin by considering some candidate definitions of “higher-order evidence,” and offering our own definition that attempts to capture the phenomenon of interest. We will then consider, in light of this definition, whether disagreement and its epistemic significance are best-understood as a kind of higher-order evidence. We’ll argue that although peer disagreement can be epistemically significant qua higher-order evidence, this role doesn’t exhaust its significance, and that it can also serve as straightforward first-order evidence. Finally, we’ll suggest that inattention to this latter point has made broadly conciliatory views about peer disagreement seem somewhat easier to resist than they in fact are. (shrink)

Weyl's tile argument purports to show that there are no natural distance functions in atomistic space that approximate Euclidean geometry. I advance a response to this argument that relies on a new account of distance in atomistic space, called "the mixed account," according to which local distances are primitive and other distances are derived from them. Under this account, atomistic space can approximate Euclidean space (and continuous space in general) very well. To motivate this account as a genuine solution to (...) Weyl's tile argument, I argue that this account is no less natural than the standard account of distance in continuous space. I also argue that the mixed account has distinctive advantages over Forrest's (1995) account in response to Weyl's tile argument, which can be considered as a restricted version of the mixed account. (shrink)

In The Humanist Spirit of Daoism, Chen Guying presents a concise overview of his understanding of the meaning and significance of Daoist philosophy. Chen is a leading contemporary Chinese thinker and spokesperson for a new Daoist approach to existential and socio-political issues. He was born in mainland China in 1935, but after having resettled to Taiwan, he received his education there and was a student activist in the 1960s. He became famous in the Chinese-speaking world with his writings (...) on Nietzsche, Laozi and Zhuangzi. At present he is a Professor at Peking University. This volume collects representative essays from the past 25 years which not only outline Chen's interpretation of Daoism as a deeply humanist way of thinking and living, but also show how he employs this philosophy in a critique of totalitarianism and neo-imperialism. (shrink)

If a benevolent and all-powerful God exists, how can there be so much suffering? Could God have created a better world? Or is evil the price we pay for freedom of the will?

China is currently afflicted by enormous environmental problems. This book, drawing on ancient and modern Chinese environmental thinking, considers what it is that makes an environment a desirable place for living. The book emphasises ideas of beauty, and discusses how these ideas can be applied in natural, agricultural and urban environments in order to produce desirable environments. The book argues that environment is both a product of nature and of human beings, and as such is potentially alterable by culture. The (...) book explores the three aspects of environmental beauty whereby such alteration might be beneficially made: integrated and holistic; ecological and man-made; and authentic and everyday. (shrink)

Guiding you through the topics that shape aesthetics, this introduction explores the truth, meaning, taste, aesthetic merit and the role of perception. Each chapter offers a wealth of examples from Asia, including Sonny Liew's The Art of Charlie Chan Hock Chye, Tan Tai Yong, Kueh Appreciation Day and dragon kiln pottery. They deal with controversies and address central questions, such as: When are artworks considered dangerous? Why does Socrates recommend the banishment of the poets? What are the problems and challenges (...) posed by forgery? Here is a creative and accessible introduction that inspires a love for art and aesthetics. (shrink)

荀子思想以美學始，以法哲學終。不論是美學或法哲學，其思想的精髓皆是「類」。 荀子是先秦儒家之集大成者，唐宋之後飽受誤解，地位一落千丈。本書希望讓荀子思想的精華重見天日。全書共分三部分，包括「類的自覺」、「類的本質」、「類的生活」，每部分含三章，共九章，以「類」的概念貫串各章， 分別探討荀子與儒家的宗教性問題、荀子與《易傳》、《中庸》的系譜關係、荀子思想中的性惡說、公共理性與公共感性的相關問題，以及禮、樂、法作為「類的生活」如何實現荀子的王制理想。並運用黑格爾──馬克思學派的 美學、維柯與赫德的民族詩學的思想資源，從中西匯通的美學語境彰顯荀子思想的精華。.

This study attempts to answer the question why Confucianism, the dominant “teaching” among the Three Teachings, is not a religion in contemporary China, unlike the other two “teachings,” Buddhism and Daoism. By examining this phenomenon in the social-historical context, this study finds its origin in Orientalism. The Orientalist conceptualization of religion became part of the New Culture discourse at the turn of the twentieth century. While China has undergone tremendous social changes over the past century, the old discourse remains.

自然人，如何成為道德／法律權利的主體 法哲學，又叫做法理學， 自19世紀後就因「自然權利」而展開長時間的論爭，延續到今天。 這是「自然法論」與「法實證主義」之間的辯論， 固然推進了專家與學院研究， 但也因很多走向概念化與形式化，漸失與社會及人的連結， 權利主體及方法論轉變的內涵，逐漸被忽略。 法哲學要跟社會對話，重探方法論勢必不可省。 19世紀前的法哲學都是自然法學，但對自然法則有不同的理解方式。本書從法哲學的視野，分成三個部分，探討自然法的起源和轉折、現代自然權利論及當代的論辯。陳妙芬以歷史性及分析性的詮釋方法，探討各時期自然法論 的特色，指出霍布斯的自然主義法形上學為關鍵的轉折，影響了盧梭檢視人性論、自然狀態及社會契約等假設，透過盧梭及康德完成自然權利論，將自然法轉型成為理性法，其最重要的貢獻為建立「權利主體」概念——自然人成 為道德及法律上的權利主體。《法哲學》藉助新康德哲學家卡西勒的盧梭辯證詮釋，梳理法文和德文原著，將基礎研究帶入19世紀至今的論辯，對圍繞自然法與實證法的問題糾結，包括法治與正義等議題，提供宏觀和微細考察 。 專業推薦 在此一民主政治深陷危機的年代，重新審視作為其理論基礎的自然法傳統是一件刻不容緩的事，本書無疑是近年來對此議題最系統性且兼具學術深度與現實關懷的傑作。 ──葉浩（政治大學政治系副教授） 《法哲學：自然法研究》是中文世界第一本系統性介紹自然法思想史的鉅著。陳妙芬教授以平易近人的文字，引領讀者思考「法律是什麼？」的大哉問。不論專業法律人或關心公共事務的一般公民，本書都是必讀佳作。 ──王鵬翔 （中央研究院法律學研究所副研究員） 本書作者使用自己的、清楚的語言風格，完整探索一切法律思維與根本人性的牽繫，藉此在尋找法律本質的路途上鮮明浮現一個勇敢與真誠自然人的影像。 ──黃榮堅（臺灣大學法律學院名譽教授）.

漢代是中國歷史上第一個長治久安的一統帝國。在政治上，它確立了此下2000年中國中央集權政治體制的模式；在學術文化上，西方人將傳統中國學術研究統稱為「漢學」，因為漢代確立了中國傳統學術文化與族群性格的雛 形，其學術思想有幾個重要特質：一、統合性的思想色彩濃厚，二、崇功尚用，擅政論而不重哲思，三、法家思想是其政治的支撐，陰陽家思想是其學術文化的底流。本書一方面就漢代幾位大思想家，如陸賈、賈誼、董仲舒的著 作，乃至漢代財經大論辯記錄──《鹽鐵論》的記載，去呈現漢代思想與思想家兼糅並包的特質；同時就思想史的角度，全面梳理法家思想在漢代諸子理論中的表現，以印證法家思想在漢代學術思想中的重要地位。同時也透過考 察先秦以來抽象的「道」論在漢代務實轉化的情況，去呈顯漢代思想崇功尚用、不重玄思的特質。.

本書一方面經由對中國近年出土戰國與漢代簡帛本《老子》，和重要傳世《老子》文本之對比中，觀測《老子》版本的流傳與異文狀況，及其所產生的不同向度之思想詮釋，以理解老子哲學生命開闊深遠之影響力； 另一方面，也藉由對黃老道家思想理論深入的解析中，了解《老子》哲學在後世是如何地廣納百川，吸取各家思想精髓，轉化開拓出閎闊的外王氣象與格局。.