Li, B. (2025). The Algorithmic Philosophy — A Synthetic and Social Philosophy: (Translated by Omar Mahmutović). Theoria: časopis Za Filozofiju, 12(12), 157–173.

According to the sensitivity account of knowledge, S knows that p only if S’s belief in p is sensitive in the sense that S would not believe that p if p were false. The sensitivity condition is usually relativized to belief-formation methods to avoid putative counterexamples. A remaining issue for the account is where methods should be mentioned in sensitivity subjunctives. In this paper, I argue that if methods are mentioned in the antecedent, then the account is too strong to (...) accommodate inductive knowledge; if methods are mentioned in the consequent, then the account is too weak to eliminate some luckily true beliefs from the realm of knowledge. Therefore, the strategy to relativize the sensitivity condition is undermined by inductive knowledge and some luckily true beliefs. (shrink)

The safety condition is supposed to be a necessary condition on knowledge which helps to eliminate epistemic luck. It has been argued that the condition should be globalized to a set of propositions rather than the target proposition believed to account for why not all beliefs in necessary truths are safe. A remaining issue is which propositions are relevant when evaluating whether the target belief is safe or not. In the literature, solutions have been proposed to determine the relevance of (...) propositions. This paper examines a case of luckily true belief—thus a case of ignorance—and a case of knowledge. It argues that no solution in the literature offers a correct verdict in either case. Therefore, the strategy to globalize safety remains unsatisfactory. (shrink)

It has been argued that an advantage of the safety account over the sensitivity account is that the safety account preserves epistemic closure, while the sensitivity account implies epistemic closure failure. However, the argument fails to take the method-relativity of the modal conditions on knowledge, viz., sensitivity and safety, into account. In this paper, I argue that the sensitivity account and the safety account are on a par with respect to epistemic closure once the method-relativity of the modal conditions is (...) taken into account. Therefore, epistemic closure is no longer an arbiter in the debate. (shrink)

According to the safety account of knowledge, one knows that p only if one’s belief could not easily have been false. An important issue for the account is whether we should only examine the target belief when evaluating whether a belief is safe or not. In this paper, it is argued that, if we should only examine the target belief, then the account fails to account for ignorance of necessary truths. But, if we should also examine beliefs in other relevant (...) propositions, then the account fails to account for knowledge from falsehood. Therefore, the safety account of knowledge is undermined by knowledge from falsehood and ignorance of necessary truths. (shrink)

This article is an attempt to address the gap in contemporary scholarship related toa unique form of śamatha and vipaśyanā, which focuses on the combined teach-ings, contributing to the research on the relationship between religious practiceand religious philosophy, particularly regarding Mahāyāna Buddhism. Based ontextual study and philosophical analysis of ancient Buddhist literatures, this articlestates that within the text of the Saṃdhinirmocanasūtra, “śamatha and vipaśyanāfocused on the combined teachings” is effective and feasible in realizing the ulti-mate reality. This article concludes that (...) the essential practice involves combiningall the teachings and meditating on their collective contribution to the realization ofsuchness. The relationship between it and the theory of suchness is delineated intothree aspects. First, meditating on the reasons that all the teachings contribute to therealization is itself a practice of suchness. Second, the entirety of all the teachingscorresponds to the universality of suchness. Third, it is also a method to practicethe suchness of the teachings themselves. Lastly, through the initial application ofattention, sustained attention, and resolution, it is feasible for ordinary persons toengage in this practice and eventually realize suchness. (shrink)

This paper deals with the world before language. It divides two states using “Pre-symbolic” and “Meaning-Constructed.” Pre-symbolic: symbols, images, and sounds before humans assign meaning. Meaning-Constructed: the world after meaning appears. The system is further divided into the “Visual Manifold” and the “Auditory Manifold.” This paper also introduces “Restricted-Sense Consensus” and “Extended-Sense Consensus”: Restricted-Sense Consensus: subjects of the same species exchange, teach, and communicate using their own Meaning-Constructed States. Extended-Sense Consensus: different civilizations and different species construct their own Meaning-Constructed States (...) after interpreting their own Pre-symbolic States. These six categories form the core theory of the book the author is currently writing, The Possibility of Understanding Symbols. The main analysis concerns the framework by which humans move from symbols (Pre-symbolic) to meaning (Meaning-Constructed). (shrink)

Depending on whether we are somewhat tolerant of nearby error-possibilities or not, the safety condition on knowledge is open to a strong reading and a weak reading. In this paper, it is argued that induction and conjunction introduction constitute two horns of a dilemma for the safety account of knowledge. If we opt for the strong reading, then the safety account fails to account for inductive knowledge. In contrast, if we opt for the weak reading, then the safety account fails (...) to accommodate knowledge obtained via the method of conjunction introduction. (shrink)

This paper examines two objections to the infinitist theory of epistemic justification, namely “the finite mind objection” and “the distinction objection.” It criticizes Peter Klein’s response to the distinction objection and offers a more plausible response. It is then argued that this response is incompatible with Klein’s response to the finite mind objection. Infinitists, it would seem, cannot handle both objections when taken together.

This study explores the impact of regional comprehensive factors on talent acquisition using the ASA (Attraction-Selection-Attrition) theory within the context of the automotive industry, employing a structural equation modeling approach. Analyzing data from 308 respondents, the study identifies significant relationships between regional development pole, industry agglomeration, and regional incentives with various dimensions of talent acquisition, including attraction, selection, and retention. The findings reveal that regional development pole and incentives positively influence talent management processes, whereas industry agglomeration has a detrimental effect. (...) These insights are essential for formulating strategies to enhance talent acquisition and retention in the automotive industry by leveraging regional development and incentive mechanisms while addressing the challenges posed by industrial agglomeration. (shrink)

感謝《鵝湖月刊》給我機會討論拙作《比較的時代 ——中西視野中的儒家哲學前沿問題》（以下簡稱《比較的時代》），也很感謝李明書、李健君、張麗麗三位年輕有為的學者認真討論我在書中提出的一些問題。 三位學者都認識到這裏討論的「比較哲學」是通過比較來研究哲學，而不僅僅是比較已經存在的相同和不同的哲學思想。 在我看來， 單純地比較不同的哲學思想基本上是哲學史的工作。 而通過運用比較的方法做哲學則是哲學本身的工作，是建構性的原創性的工作。 說我們的時代是一個比較的時代，是說我們處於一個以比較為特徵來研究和建構哲學思想的時代。 通過比較來做哲學，就是要通過研究不同的哲學流派和不同的哲學思想，來進而建構新的哲學思想，以回答時代向我們提出的問題。在這個方面，我個人的看法是，今天的儒家哲學研究已經進入了一個不可迴避、不可逆轉的比較 的時代。 這是一件大好事。 這樣的研究使我們有更廣闊的視野，使我們有更多、更豐富的思想資源，也使我們更可能有效地回答時代提出的問題。 這裡我分別對三位學者提出的問題做出回應。.

This paper presents a human-computer interaction model with a three layers learning mechanism in a pervasive environment. We begin with a discussion around a number of important issues related to human-computer interaction followed by a description of the architecture for a multi-agent cooperative design system for pervasive computing environment. We present our proposed three- layer HCI model and introduce the group formation algorithm, which is predicated on a dynamic sharing niche technology. Finally, we explore the cooperative reinforcement learning and fusion (...) algorithms; the paper closes with concluding observations and a summary of the principal work and contributions of this paper. (shrink)

Purpose: This research investigates how Chinese public sector employees perceive and approach administrative ethics in the digital age. The study aims to understand how attitudes, organizational culture, and perceived organizational support influence satisfaction with ethical practices, emphasizing the mediating role of behavioral intention. -/- Design/Method/Approach: This study employed a quantitative research design, collecting data through convenience sampling and snowball sampling methods. The study measured attitudes toward administrative ethics, organizational culture, perceived support, behavioral intention, and satisfaction. Data from 420 participants were (...) analyzed using SPSS and AMOS. -/- Findings: The results reveal that positive attitudes, a supportive organizational culture, and high perceived support significantly enhance behavioral intentions, which mediate their impact on satisfaction with ethical practices. -/- Theoretical Implications: This study integrates behavioral intention into the framework of administrative ethics, highlighting its mediating role in linking organizational support to satisfaction. -/- Practical Implications: Organizations should promote positive attitudes, cultivate supportive cultures, and enhance perceived support to strengthen ethical behavior and improve satisfaction with ethics. -/- Originality/Value: By focusing on behavioral intention in the digital age, this research offers a fresh perspective on fostering satisfaction with ethical practices in public administration. -/- Research Limitations/Future Research: Future studies could explore additional factors, such as technological influences or leadership styles, and examine variations across different sectors and regions. -/- Paper Type: Empirical -/- JEL Classification: H83, M14, O33. (shrink)

The rapid advancements in Artificial Intelligence (AI) have transformed language education, especially in higher education. Many studies have been done related to AI integration in education, but none on the use of language AI tools among Diploma TESL students at PolyTech institutions in Malaysia. This study investigates the use of AI writing tools such as Grammarly, QuillBot and ChatGPT in enhancing the academic writing skills of Diploma in Teaching English as a Second Language (DTESL) students at Kolej Poly-Tech Mara (KPTM) (...) Kota Bharu, Malaysia. The study is grounded in Sociocultural Theory (SCT) and the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) to investigate the relationship between AI writing tool use which is the independent variable and academic writing skills as the dependent variable including grammar accuracy, vocabulary usage, coherence and organization and self-editing skills. Students’ perceptions of AI writing tools that are operationalized through perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use will serve as the moderating variable. A mixed-method explanatory sequential design under the pragmatic paradigm will be employed with Phase 1 comprising a quantitative survey that will be administered to 150 students followed by Phase 2 involving qualitative semi-structured interviews with 15 purposively selected students to explore their experiences, challenges and suggestions for improving the integration of AI writing tools. Quantitative data will be analysed using SPSS Statistics Version 29 through descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation and multiple regression analysis. Qualitative data will be analysed thematically through a manual process. This study will provide empirical insights into how AI writing tools support ESL academic writing performance and offer practical recommendations elicited from students’ suggestions for incorporating these tools into writing instruction. By focusing on the Malaysian higher education ESL context, this study addresses critical gaps in the literature on AI-assisted academic writing. (shrink)

Rapid advances in artificial intelligence necessitate a re-examination of the epistemological foundations upon which we attribute consciousness. As AI systems increasingly mimic human behavior and interaction with high fidelity, the concept of a "perfect mimic"—an entity empirically indistinguishable from a human through observation and interaction—shifts from hypothetical to technologically plausible. This paper argues that such developments pose a fundamental challenge to the consistency of our mind-recognition practices. Consciousness attributions rely heavily, if not exclusively, on empirical evidence derived from behavior and (...) interaction. If a perfect mimic provides evidence identical to that of humans, any refusal to grant it equivalent epistemic status must invoke inaccessible factors, such as qualia, substrate requirements, or origin. Selectively invoking such factors risks a debilitating dilemma: either we undermine the rational basis for attributing consciousness to others (epistemological solipsism), or we accept inconsistent reasoning. I contend that epistemic consistency demands we ascribe the same status to empirically indistinguishable entities, regardless of metaphysical assumptions. The perfect mimic thus acts as an epistemic mirror, forcing critical reflection on the assumptions underlying intersubjective recognition in light of advancing AI. This analysis carries significant implications for theories of consciousness and ethical frameworks concerning artificial agents. (shrink)

The bruxism is a medical sleep syndrome it is the remedial span for crushing the tines and gritting the jowl. Human rarely chore their tines and jowl, slightly than crushing their teeth lacking it producing any signals. The symptoms of bruxism are arduousness in the jowl joint, breakable teeth, headache, earache and difficulty in open in mouth etc. The causes of bruxism are snooze sickness, pressure and nervousness. The REM is a rapid eye movement it's a stages of sleep. The (...) EEG signal are used in the measurement of neuron, the alpha, beta, gamma, theta and delta wave are used in the prognostic of bruxism syndrome. It's used in MATLAB coding by the six steps in prognostic in bruxism. Md Belal Bin Heyat | Faijan Akhtar | Shadab Azad "Comparative Analysis of Original Wave & Filtered Wave of EEG signal Used in the Prognostic of Bruxism medical Sleep syndrome" Published in International Journal of Trend in Scientific Research and Development (ijtsrd), ISSN: 2456-6470, Volume-1 | Issue-1 , December 2016,. (shrink)

Few would deny that something ontologically depends on something else. Given that something depends on something, what depends on what? Huayan Buddhism 華嚴宗, a prominent Chinese Buddhist school, is known for its extensive thesis of interdependence, according to which everything depends on everything else. This intriguing thesis is entangled with seemingly paradoxical claims that everything is not only identified with everything else but also contained within it. Moreover, the radical thesis of interdependence entails that dependence is pervasive and symmetric. In (...) this paper, I first develop a contemporary interpretation of Huayan interdependence by employing the definitional account of essence and the essence-based account of dependence. Through these contemporary resources, I elucidate and unify the theses of interdependence, mutual identity, and mutual containment within Huayan Buddhism. I then propose a unique framework of ontological dependence that suggests varying degrees of ontological dependence, aimed at accommodating and explaining away our intuitions against pervasive and symmetric dependence. By contemporizing Huayan Buddhism, I explore its potential and facilitate engagement between contemporary metaphysics and Huayan Buddhism. (shrink)

This framework proposes a triadic perspective of "embodied perception – information exchange – dynamic interconstitution" to address the fundamental questions of "Who am I? Where do I come from? Where am I going?". Embodied perception is defined as the individual's unique experience of their own dynamism, continuity, and agency. Information exchange is regarded as the semantic entropy-reducing summarization and entropy-increasing reconstruction of embodied perception through the process of "encoding – transmission – decoding". Dynamic interconstitution, drawing on complex systems theory, explains (...) the mechanism of mutual construction among individuals within ecological networks. Through interdisciplinary concept reframing and the design of verifiable mechanisms, this perspective interprets and responds to philosophical issues such as self, civilization, symbiosis, value, critique, morality, freedom, development, and power. It establishes a dialogue with cognitive science, artificial intelligence, and the social sciences, offering a new direction for understanding individual–group symbiosis. (shrink)

This paper reports the first study in the literature that adopts a bibliometric approach to systematically explore the scholarship in the young and fast‐growing research field of experimental philosophy. Based on a corpus of 1,248 publications in experimental philosophy from the past two decades retrieved from the PhilPapers website, the study examined the publication trend, the influential experimental philosophers, the impactful works, the popular publication venues, and the major research themes in this subarea of philosophy. It found, first, an overall (...) growing trend in publications in experimental philosophy, encompassing four developmental stages. Second, it found that significant changes in topics of interest have taken place, with some gaining increasing attention, others seemingly going out of fashion, and still others remaining popular constantly. Third, the study identified lists of leading philosophers, frequently cited publications, and popular journals helpful for researchers and newcomers to get a quick start in learning about the field. (shrink)

In this paper, we aim to trace the origin of the systematic cross-cultural variations in referential intuitions by investigating the effects of perspective taking on people’s responses in the Gödel-style probes through two novel experiments. Here is how we will proceed. In section 2, we first briefly introduce the MMNS (2004) study, and then critically review the two relevant studies conducted by Sytsma and colleagues (i.e., Sytsma and Livengood 2011; Sytsma et al. 2015). In section 3, we introduce the literature (...) on cross-cultural variation in perspective taking in cultural psychology, which together with the conjecture of perspectival ambiguity leads to the hypothesis of our current study. In sections 4 and 5, two new experiments on how perspective taking affects people’s responses in hypothetical stories modelled on the Gödel thought experiment will be reported. Based on the empirical findings, in section 6 we argue that the robust cross-cultural variations thus far observed in people’s responses to the Gödel cases are largely attributable to culturally specific perspective-taking strategies, which provides new support for the proposal previously made by Sytsma and Livengood (2011). The implications of the experimental results for the ongoing work of testing the theories of refence of names and for the current metaphilosophical debate on the robustness of philosopher’s intuitions are also drawn in this section. Finally, the major conclusions and contributions of the current study are highlighted in section 7. (shrink)

Past work has shown systematic differences between Easterners' and Westerners' intuitions about the reference of proper names. Understanding when these differences emerge in development will help us understand their origins. In the present study, we investigate the referential intuitions of English- and Chinese-speaking children and adults in the U.S. and China. Using a truth-value judgment task modeled on Kripke's classic Gödel case, we find that the cross-cultural differences are already in place at age seven. Thus, these differences cannot be attributed (...) to later education or enculturation. Instead, they must stem from differences that are present in early childhood. We consider alternate theories of reference that are compatible with these findings and discuss the possibility that the cross-cultural differences reflect differences in perspective-taking strategies. (shrink)

Though there is a wide and varied literature on ethical supererogation, there has been almost nothing written about its epistemic counterpart, despite an intuitive analogy between the two fields. This paper seeks to change this state of affairs. I will begin by showing that there are examples which intuitively feature epistemically supererogatory doxastic states. Next, I will present a positive theory of epistemic supererogation that can vindicate our intuitions in these examples, in an explanation that parallels a popular theory of (...) ethical supererogation. Roughly, I will argue that a specific type of epistemic virtue—the ability to creatively think up plausible hypotheses given a body of evidence—is not required of epistemic agents. Thus, certain exercises of this virtue can result in supererogatory doxastic states. In presenting this theory, I will also show how thinking about epistemic supererogation can provide us a new way forward in the debate about the uniqueness thesis for epistemic rationality. (shrink)

Abstract: Traditional economics treats core concepts such as "value" and "utility" as a priori, quantifiable givens, leading to a "disembodied" dilemma in its theoretical framework. Based on the triad of "Embodied Perception, Information Exchange, and Dynamic Interconstitution" proposed in Embodiment-Symbiosis: The Construction and Interpretation of a Dynamic Philosophical System Framework, this paper constructs a new framework for interpreting economic philosophy. This framework anchors the essence of economic activity in the expansion and interaction of individual and collective "meaning-generating spaces," thereby providing (...) a consistent and profound meta-theoretical explanation for the origin of value, the motivation for transaction, the nature of currency, the operation of financial markets, distributive justice, and the production-consumption cycle. This paper argues that the economy is not an objective system detached from subjective experience, but rather a meaning network rooted in human embodiment, achieving consensus through information exchange, and continuously evolving through dynamic co-construction. This perspective not only explains various economic phenomena, ranging from primitive exchange to complex finance, but also, through its inherent normativity, provides a solid philosophical foundation for critiquing economic alienation and power exploitation. (shrink)

This essay introduces the philosophy of harmony in Classical Confucianism. In the first part of the essay the author summarizes the concept of harmony as it was developed in various Confucian classics. In the second part, the author offers an account of the Confucian program of harmony, ranging from internal harmony in the person, to harmony in the family, the state, the international world, and finally to harmony in the entire universe.

Rationality is intrapersonally permissive just in case there are multiple doxastic states that one agent may be rational in holding at a given time, given some body of evidence. One way for intrapersonal permissivism to be true is if there are epistemic supererogatory beliefs—beliefs that go beyond the call of epistemic duty. Despite this, there has been almost no discussion of epistemic supererogation in the permissivism literature. This paper shows that this is a mistake. It does this by arguing that (...) the most popular ways of responding to one of the major obstacles to any intrapersonally permissive all fall prey to the same problem. This problem is most naturally solved by positing a category of epistemically supererogatory belief. So intrapersonal epistemic permissivists should embrace epistemic supererogation. (shrink)

Challenging the way critical thinking is often considered a skill, this article explores possible discursive reasons for the skill-orientation and technicization of this concept. First, using Michel Foucault’s ‘division and rejection’ theory as a discursive analytical lens, the discussion explores the neoliberal alliance of international organizations, national governmental authorities, the media, job markets, schools, and concerned parents. It explores how this alliance promotes the discourse of skill and competence, and prepares the ground for critical thinking’s technicization. Drawing further on Foucault’s (...) decoding of human capital as the essence of neoliberalism, the article explores the way that the technicization of critical thinking fits with a conception of human beings as a complex mix of production and consumption, where, as homo economicus, they become entrepreneurs of themselves. Second, in the light of Foucault’s discursive analytical conception of the will to truth, the article traces a possible historical underpinning of critical thinking’s technicization. It argues that power-knowledge, the dark side of Enlightenment technological rationality, creates an increasingly technical conception of the world that tampers with the criticality of critical thinking. If critical thinking does not render people aware of the power impinging on them, it loses its value and meaning. The article proposes that critical thinking should rather be conceived along the lines of a Foucauldian conception of critique: the art of not being governed, which takes inspiration from Kant’s conception of enlightenment. It explores how to practise Foucauldian critical thinking, how Foucault’s technology of the self can be enacted as the protector of subjectivity against the governmentality of power. (shrink)

Probabilism holds that rational credence functions are probability functions defined over some probability space $(\Omega, \F, P)$. According to some recent philosophical arguments, in some situations, rational credence function must be \textit{total}, i.e. $\F=2^\Omega$, a view which I call \textit{credence totalism}. Arguments for credence totalism are based on the premise that non-Lebesgue measurable subsets of $\mathbb{R}$ are epistemically significant, in the sense that an agent has reasons to assign probability to these sets. This paper argues that nonmeasurable sets are not (...) epistemically significant in this sense. Consequently, the arguments for credence totalism are not successful. My argument is based on a careful consideration of the role of the Axiom of Choice in probabilistic practice. I also discuss some topics considered closely related, viz. the existence of total chance functions and the truth value of the Continuum Hypothesis. I argue that the role of nonmeasurability in epistemology does not shed light on these issues. (shrink)

The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has revealed an unexpected population of massive, morphologically mature, and even quenched galaxies at redshifts \( z > 10 \)—a finding that starkly contradicts the slow, hierarchical structure formation predicted by the standard ΛCDM model. In direct response, this monograph articulates and applies the **Energy Quantum Theory **(EQT), a comprehensive physical and philosophical framework first systematically developed in the author’s foundational monographs (Li & Li, 2025). -/- EQT reconceives the cosmos not as a collection (...) of particles in spacetime, but as a dynamic **energyon density field** \( \rho(\mathbf{r}, t, f) \), whose evolution is governed by three core postulates: **Frequency Partitioning**, **Gradient Flow**, and **Non-cumulative Emergence**. This process ontology—explicitly physicalizing the philosophies of Whitehead and Prigogine—unifies quantum, electromagnetic, and gravitational phenomena as frequency-band manifestations of a single gradient-driven dynamics. -/- We show that JWST’s “precocious galaxies” are a natural consequence of EQT: high-frequency energy quanta from the first stars (\( f \sim 10^{15}–10^{18} \) Hz) **nonlinearly cascade** into low-frequency gravitational modes (\( f \sim 10^{-5} \) Hz), inducing the rapid formation of massive structures far earlier than ΛCDM allows. Critically, because energy is fundamentally non-negative (\( E = hf \geq 0 \)), the energyon density field satisfies \( \rho \geq 0 \), which **entails the intrinsic unidirectionality of gravitational gradients** (always attractive). JWST’s observation of efficient early aggregation thus provides strong empirical confirmation of this core tenet and decisively rules out cosmological models invoking significant negative-mass repulsion. -/- Philosophically, EQT replaces the narrative of cosmic heat death with a **four-phase rhythm**—Inspiration, Suspension, Expiration, and Inflection—wherein complexity emerges locally and transiently as a necessary phase of cosmic self-expression. The theory is not merely explanatory but **predictive**, yielding concrete, testable signatures for next-generation observatories (e.g., spatial correlation between JWST star-forming galaxies and the LISA gravitational-wave background). -/- This work demonstrates that the JWST anomaly is not a crisis for cosmology, but a catalyst for a deeper synthesis—one that unifies fundamental physics with a coherent natural philosophy of process, time, and cosmic destiny. (shrink)

This essay analyses two kinds of harmony as exemplified in Confucianism and Daoism and examines their relation with domination and freedom.

In this brief reply I respond to criticisms of my book, The referential mechanism of proper names, from Michael Devitt and Nicolo D'Agruma. I focus on the question of whether the perspectivism advocated in the book explains the empirical results there detailed.

Integrated Information Theory (IIT) provides a quantitative framework for explaining consciousness phenomenon, positing that conscious systems comprise elements integrated through causal properties. We apply IIT 3.0 and 4.0 — the latest iterations of this framework — to sequences of Large Language Model (LLM) representations, analyzing data derived from existing Theory of Mind (ToM) test results. Our study systematically investigates whether the differences of ToM test performances, when presented in the LLM representations, can be revealed by IIT estimates, i.e., Φmax (IIT (...) 3.0), Φ (IIT 4.0), Conceptual Information (IIT 3.0), and Φ-structure (IIT 4.0). Furthermore, we compare these metrics with the Span Representations independent of any estimate for consciousness. This additional effort aims to differentiate between potential “consciousness” phenomena and inherent separations within LLM representational space. We conduct comprehensive experiments examining variations across LLM transformer layers and linguistic spans from stimuli. Our results suggest that sequences of contemporary Transformer-based LLM representations lack statistically significant indicators of observed “consciousness” phenomena but exhibit intriguing patterns under _spatio_-permutational analyses. (shrink)

【摘 要】：本文认为儒家拥有资源构建自己的自由概念哲学，没有必要为此目的移植西方的“自由意志”概念。一个人只有在她有效决定自我命运并塑造其生活时，才能称得上自由。如果以这种方式理解，实现儒家自由要依靠发展个 人做出有效选择的能力并创造有关的外在条件，以达成有意义的选择目标。具体地说，它是通过择善过程而实现的。 【关键词】：自由 ，自由意志 ，选择 练习履行概念 ，选择 ，女性主义 ，个人能力 ，外在条件 ，善择 ，择善 .

We happen to live in a world in which people stand in long chains of care: some people care about other people, who care about still other people, and so on. We explore an argument according to which chains of care expand the circle of prudential concern for carers. The argument’s upshot is that many individuals have a circle of prudential concern that encompasses the welfare of many people, including distant strangers. This result has a range of surprising implications about (...) the scope of prudential concern and our ability to know and control the determinants of our welfare. Natural extensions of the argument suggest that our welfare is—to a surprising degree—dependent on the welfare of distant strangers. We consider several proposals for escaping this outcome. It turns out that they are either costly or that they do not provide an escape. We thus provisionally accept that, courtesy of care chains, our significant prudential interests include the welfare of individuals we do not care about or even know. (shrink)

Michael Sandel has been one of the most powerful critics of liberalism in the past decades. His work, especially in Liberalism and the Limits of Justice, exposes some of the fundamental flaws of Rawlsian liberalism and shows the need for a community-based framework in order for us to adequately understand and appreciate the concept of the individual and just society. Confucians can endorse many of Sandel’s critiques of liberalism. From a Confucian perspective, however, Sandel’s version of communitarianism is nevertheless too (...) thin for a robust communitarian society. Confucians maintain a thick notion of community and take it to be vital to human flourishing. In this essay, I first discuss a key point where Confucians converge with Sandel as an example of the common ground between the two philosophies before turn to one important difference between them. The key point of convergence is about the circumstances of justice; the difference is on harmony. Harmony lies in the very center of the Confucian notion of community, whereas it has been given no place in Sandel’s conception of community. This essay offers a Confucian critique as well as an endorsement of Sandel’s communitarian philosophy. It also extends a friendly invitation to Sandel for him to take harmony into his conception of community. (shrink)

Familism, patriotism, and cosmopolitanism form three concentric circles in a person's life. Each of these respective human communities constitutes an independent good for the good life. The value of family life does not depend on the value of country, and the world. Nor does the value of patriotic life or cosmopolitan life depend on that of family life. Shifting allegiances between these circles entails reallocating loyalty and dedication, and thus both enriches one's life and incurs a cost to it. In (...) the view that I construct here, a philosophy of the good life articulates its own vision of the ideal allocation of loyalty and dedication among these three or more spheres. While cosmopolitanism has its own value and good, it also comes with a cost; proponents of cosmopolitanism-including Confucian cosmopolitansoften overlook such a cost. I argue for a "dynamic harmony" approach to cosmopolitanism that takes into account the cost it incurs on people's local commitments. (shrink)

We propose a simple interpretation of phenomenal consciousness, or qualia, in which qualia are merely grouped signals that represent objects. To establish this interpretation, we first propose criteria for determining whether a machine can possess qualia. We then integrate modern neuroscience with Kant’s philosophical ideas to propose four principles of information processing. Based on these principles, we demonstrate how a machine could meet the criteria for phenomenal consciousness. Extending this framework, we argue that these principles also underlie human cognitive processing. (...) To support this claim, we compare them with related concepts in mainstream cognitive science, analyzing both similarities and differences. Furthermore, we provide empirical evidence for the implications of these differences. This analysis suggests that human cognitive mechanisms conform to the proposed principles of information processing, offering a potential framework for understanding the physical basis of consciousness. Our findings challenge the assumption that phenomenal consciousness necessitates a non-material substrate. Instead, we suggest that the experience of consciousness arises from structural organization and processing of information. This perspective provides a new lens for examining the relationship between computation and subjective experience, with potential implications for artificial intelligence and cognitive science. (shrink)

This monograph establishes that spiral structure—from DNA’s double helix to JWST’s high-redshift galactic arms—is not a geometric accident, but the necessary geometric manifestation of a universal four-phase cosmic rhythm. Building on the Energy Quantum Theory (EQT) framework (Li, 2025), we demonstrate that all spirals arise from a single, scale-invariant mechanism: high-frequency energy quanta (f_H \sim 10^{15}–10^{18}\, \text{Hz}) nonlinearly cascade into low-frequency modes (f_L \sim 10^{-8}–10^{-5}\, \text{Hz}), generating a gradient field \nabla \rho(r,\theta) whose interplay with angular momentum conservation produces logarithmic spiral (...) trajectories. -/- We derive a unified formula for the pitch angle: \[ \psi = \tan^{-1}\left( \frac{v_r}{v_\theta} \right) \propto \frac{|\nabla \rho(r)|}{L}, \] which holds across thirty orders of magnitude—from molecular (10^{-10}\, \text{m}) to cosmological (10^{26}\, \text{m}) scales. Crucially, because E = h f \geq 0, the energyon density satisfies \rho \geq 0, ensuring gradient unidirectionality (always attractive), which explains JWST’s efficient early structure formation and rules out negative-mass models. -/- The work yields concrete, falsifiable predictions: (1) JWST + ALMA: spatial correlation between UV and CO emission in spiral arms; (2) JWST + LISA: diffuse gravitational-wave background modulated by spiral geometry; (3) GRACE-FO: 2.8-year “breathing” accompanied by coherent gravitational vortices; (4) XFEL: enantiomeric excess in chiral molecules controlled by circularly polarized X-ray gradient direction. -/- By unifying Whitehead’s process philosophy with Prigogine’s irreversibility in a computable physical framework, this monograph transforms the spiral from cosmic decoration into the visible poem of a rhythmic universe—where every vortex, from galaxy to fingerprint, is a harmonic resonance of the same energyon field across the frequency spectrum. (shrink)

Our age is one of globalization. A major characteristic of this age is the interaction, contention, and integration of various cultural and philosophical traditions. In such an environment, Chinese studies can no longer be conducted in isolation, independently of external influences. If we call the 18th-19th centuries the age of reason, the 20th century the age of analysis, the 21st century is the age of comparative study. In our age, the mantra of “interpreting China in terms of (only) Chinese perspectives” (...) is no longer appropriate. Comparative approaches are becoming a quasi-paradigm in Chinese studies. (shrink)

He (和), or harmony, has traditionally been a central concept in Chinese thought, and to this day continues to shape the way in which people in China and East Asia think about ethics and politics. Yet, there is no systematic and comprehensive introduction of harmony as has been variously articulated in different Chinese schools. This edited volume aims to fill this gap. The individual contributions elaborate the conceptions of harmony as these were exemplified in central Chinese schools of thought, including (...) Daoism, Confucianism, Legalism, Mohism, Buddhism, and trace their impact on contemporary Chinese philosophy. The volume explores the various meanings and implications of harmony so as to consider its relevance as a value and virtue in the modern world. It provides an accessible but substantial introductory work for readers interested in learning about pertinent core concepts and theories in Chinese thought, as well as engages specialists in Chinese philosophy by explicating its implications for ethical, political, epistemological, and metaphysical reflection as the basic point of reference. (shrink)

T. M. Scanlon’s contractualism is a meta-ethical theory that explains moral motivation and also provides a conception of how to carry out moral deliberation. It supports non-consequentialism – the theory that both consequences and deontological considerations are morally significant in moral deliberation. Regarding the issue of punishment, non-consequentialism allows us to take account of the need for deterrence as well as principles of fairness, justice, and even desert. Moreover, Scanlonian contractualism accounts for permissibility in terms of justifiability: An act is (...) permissible if and only if it can be justified to everyone affected by it. This contractualist thesis explains why it is always impermissible to frame an innocent person, why vicarious punishment is impermissible, and why there has to be a cap on sentences. Contractualism therefore allows us to take deterrence as a goal of punishment without the excess of utilitarianism. This paper further argue that the resulting view is superior to pure retributivism. Finally, it shows why legal excuses and mitigation can be justified in terms of the notion of negative desert. (For access to this paper: http://www.tandfonline.com/eprint/sJ2JBVXkztyFMGmxS7tS/full ) . (shrink)

Many have offered accounts of the procreative asymmetry, the claim that one has no moral reason to create a life just because it would be happy, but one has moral reason not to create a life just because it would be miserable. I suggest a new approach. Instead of looking at the procreative asymmetry on its own, we can situate it within a broader landscape of asymmetries. Specifically, there are two other analogous asymmetries in the prudential and epistemic domains. The (...) prudential asymmetry says that one has no prudential reason to acquire a desire just because it would be satisfied, but one has prudential reason not to acquire a desire just because it would be frustrated. The epistemic asymmetry says that one has no epistemic reason to acquire a belief just because it is true, but one has epistemic reason not to acquire a belief just because it is false. The existence of these analogous asymmetries in these normative domains suggests the possibility of a unified account of all three asymmetries as instances of a more fundamental asymmetry of value-based reasons. This paper develops a working model of what such a unified account might look like. Such an account can give us a unified explanation of a variety of phenomena, reinforce the plausibility of each of these asymmetries, and give us a novel picture of how value gives us reasons that might extend beyond these three applications. (shrink)

All cultures are infused by or even rooted in certain values. Although those values are generally recognised in all societies, they are diversely ranked or proritised in different human groups and different perceptions partly account for cultural diversity as not all values can be equally upheld in any community or by any individual. Though value universalism in a strict sense is unachievable, we can all agree on a pluralistic mutual understanding of and tolerance for diversity.

While largely agreeing with Ruiping Fan, Chenyang Li makes three points regarding the handling of COVID-19. First, in addition to state capacity, social trust, and leadership, as identified by Francis Fukuyama, factors responsible for successful pandemic responses include the value of individual freedom upheld by citizens. A high level of individual freedom can make it difficult to implement strict measures even when they are objectively necessary. Second, a strong state can be effective in handling a pandemic, but without checks and (...) balances it also runs the risk of leading a country into a major catastrophe. Third, Confucian ethics and other ethics can aid in coping with the pandemic. However, their efficacy is not unlimited, and ultimately, human survival overrides other concerns. (shrink)

Drawing on stakeholder and legitimacy theories, this study employs fixed-effects panel regression to investigate the impact of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) practices on the performance of Chinese-listed companies between 2010 and 2020. The study empirically demonstrates that effective ESG implementation leads to improved firm performance, as measured by Tobin’s Q. environmental management systems (EMS), proxied by ISO 14001 certification, enhance the relationship between ESG and firm performance. However, green innovation (GI) diminishes the effect of ESG on firm performance. These (...) findings are consistent across industries classified as high-industrial, pollution-intensive, and subject to stringent environmental regulations, as well as among green innovation classification mechanisms. Robustness tests using instrumental variables and alternative measures of firm performance confirm the results. This study offers insights into how corporate environmental commitment through ESG initiatives fosters positive relationships with regulators, society, and stakeholders, builds reputation and legitimacy, and enhances profitability. (shrink)

This paper proposes an integrated theoretical framework for language, culture, and art, termed Connection-Symbol Theory. The core claim of this theory is that the fundamental function of symbols lies not in referring to objects, expressing meanings, or carrying structures, but in accomplishing spiritual connection—that is, in establishing a sustainably operative relational structure among subjectivity, experience, world-understanding, and action. From this perspective, language, art, and culture are no longer understood as representations of reality or as mere appendages of ideology; rather, they (...) are taken as constitutive mechanisms of reality itself. Through a systematic reflection on the paradigms of traditional semiotics, narrative theory, and cultural studies, this paper argues that explanatory frameworks centered on reference, structure, or power are no longer sufficient for accounting for contemporary cultural practices characterized by high degrees of interactivity, mediation, and diversity. Taking “connection” as its basic unit of analysis, Connection-Symbol Theory advances the anchoring and generativity of symbols, and on this basis distinguishes different types of connective modes, thereby showing that there is no commensurable, unified evaluative metric across cultural practices. By analyzing the origins of art, the generative mechanisms of narrative, and the openness of meaning, this paper argues for the ontological equality of cultural forms at the level of legitimacy, and provides a non-essentialist and non-hierarchical theoretical tool for understanding contemporary cultural democracy, the legitimacy of spiritual needs, and the implicit adjudications embedded in evaluative structures. Finally, this paper points out that Connection-Symbol Theory is not only an interpretive framework for culture and art, but also a foundational theoretical premise for understanding cultural production in the digital age, meaning-generation, and the structure of public discourse. (shrink)