Space Science as a Cradle for Philosophers

Not only astronauts, but also many space-related scientists have made remarkable contributions to the development of a more philosophical view of society. These contributions are illustrated by numerous works produced by famous space pioneers at the end of their careers. The link between science and philosophy is well acknowledged, but the two disciplines suffered a schism some 350 years ago. Now one could ask the question of whether the time has not come to merge both disciplines again. This precise theme can be found in many works and papers written by space scientists. In attempting to create a better understanding of the relation between space and philosophy, it is worthwhile to consider some characteristics of the space workforce. Comparisons have been made between this workforce and so-called “corporate Ronins”—independent and unconventional thinkers who are attracted by the challenging environment offered by space activities. These individuals' presence in the space workforce could therefore be a viable explanation for the philosophical dimension associated with space activities.     

学习问答

<正>一、如何理解既要向书本学习,又要向实践学习、向群众学习?答:中办印发的《关于推进学习型党组织建设的意见》中指出,既要向书本学习,又要向实践学习、向群众学习。要深入改革发展生动实践,加强调查研究,虚心向群众请教,集中民意,不断总结人民群众创造的新做法新经验。这是马克思主义唯物史观的与时俱进,为建设学习型党组织     

Majoritarian miracles and the question of party system change

European Journal of Political Research - The 1996 elections in Italy may be evaluated using a dual means of inquiry: which novelties (or the absence thereof) appear with respect to 1994? And, how...     

Majoritarian miracles and the question of party system change

The 1996 elections in Italy may be evaluated using a dual means of inquiry: which novelties (or the absence thereof) appear with respect to 1994? And, how many and in what way (if any) do they contribute to the definition of a new type of party system and a new logic of political competition? As regards the former perspective, we address three questions which represented fundamental issues at the time of the vote: (a) Would the new electoral system manage to provide a clear and stable governmental majority where it had failed to do so in 1994? (b) Would the political parties and alliances have changed their offers to the voters? (c) Would the voters have changed their behaviour, adapting it not just to any new offers, but especially to the logic of majoritarian competition? Regarding the latter perspective, these questions can be amalgamated into a single enquiry: Do the 1996 elections constitute a decisive step in the direction of a new party system, or are they a step backwards, or do they simply present a static picture?     

Situating technologies: Radio activity and the nuclear question

Theory‐dependence or ‘the principle of simulation which governs all information’ underpins Baudrillard's critique of ethics. Modern moral theory is just another ‘map that precedes the territory'—a ‘hypermoral simulation’ that makes an ‘is’ from an ‘ought’. That ‘production’ of moral knowledge is doomed to uncertainty by theory‐dependence, argues Baudrillard. Instead, he offers the ‘seduction’ of a pre‐modern ontology of Good and Evil. The ‘fatal strategy’ of seduction evokes a ‘state of grace’ which invites us to encounter Good and Evil as a ‘totality’ and be ‘re‐enchanted’ by the mystery of the world.     

Philosophers,Activists, and Radicals: A Story of Human Rights and Other Scandals

Paradoxically, the political success of human rights is often taken to be its philosophical failing. From US interventions to International NGOs to indigenous movements, human rights have found a place in diverse political spaces, while being applied to disparate goals and expressed in a range of practices. This heteronomy is vital to the global appeal of human rights, but for traditional moral and political philosophy it is something of a scandal. This paper is an attempt to understand and theorize human rights on the terrain of the social actors who put them to use, particularly radical activists that have a more critical relationship to human rights. Attempting to avoid the philosophical pathology of demanding that the world reflect our conception of it, we base our reflection on the ambiguous, and potentially un-patterned, texture of human rights practice—taking seriously the idea that human rights express a relationship of power, importantly concerned with its legitimate arrangement and limitation. In both the philosophical literature and human rights activism, there seems to be a consensus on basic rights as undeniable moral principles of political legitimacy. This use of human rights is contrasted with radical social movements that reject this conception of rights as ideological and illegitimate, making specific reference to the Zapatista movement (Chiapas, Mexico) and the Landless Peasant Movement of Brazil (MST, from the Portuguese Movimento dos trabalhadores rurais Sem Terra), which are critical of the human rights discourse, but also make strategic use of the idea and offer alternative articulations of political legitimacy.     

Georges Canguilhem on the question of the individual

This paper addresses the ways in which the problem of biological individuality is posed in the work of Georges Canguilhem.In his early work,Canguilhem argued that biology must regard individuality as an absolute centre,but also argued that individuality was no more than a term within a relationship whose other term was environment. The paper considers the ways in which this tension is worked out in Canguilhem's later writings,in relation to the theory of natural selection,in the theses on the nature of norms and health for living individuals, and in relation to molecular biology and the idea of the code.The paper concludes by arguing for the centrality of philosophy to inventive scientific thought.     

论新时期的党群关系问题

密切党群关系是党的十六大关注的一个十分重要的问题 ,它对巩固和发展党的执政地位具有重要的意义。本文首先从理论和实践上分析了新时期加强和改进党群关系的必要性 ,然后从分析影响党群关系的因素入手 ,系统阐述了建立互动合作型党群关系的措施和办法