The roots of the silver tree: Boyle,alchemy, and teleology

Though Robert Boyle called final causes one of the most important subjects for a natural philosopher to study, his own treatise on the subject, the Disquisition about Final Causes, has received comparatively little scholarly attention. In this paper, I explicate Boyle's complex argument against the use of teleological explanations for inanimate bodies, such as metals. The central object of this argument is a mysterious allusion to a silver plant. I claim that the silver plant is best understood as a reference to alchemical product: the Arbor Dianae, an offshoot of George Starkey's recipe for the Philosophers' Stone. Then, I show how the context of alchemy not only clarifies Boyle's argument but also places it within a wider dialectic about matter and teleology. I then contrast the parallel arguments of Boyle and John Ray on the question of whether metals have divine purposes and show that the difference is explained by Boyle's belief in the transmutation of metals.     

无私利性规范的内涵、合理性和适用范围

本文对默顿的“无私利性”规范做新的解读，力图消除翻译上和理解上的错误；归纳了批评“无私利性”规范合理性的四种类型，并针对性地提出反批评和辩护；界定了“无私利性”规范的适用范围。     

浅析罗伯特·弗罗斯特抒情诗歌的风格

罗伯特.弗罗斯特的抒情诗歌大量地是以乡村生活和风俗人情为背景,在诗歌写作中融入了个人的情感和观点的表达。这种在描写乡村生活和风俗人情的诗歌中暗示和表达自己观点的诗歌写作成为了弗罗斯特诗歌写作的一大特点和风格。本文仅以其短诗给予浅显的分析。     

罗伯特·弗罗斯特的自传主题诗评析

20世纪的英美文学世界充溢着现代主义,然而罗伯特.弗罗斯特仍以田园风光作为背景,以自己的生活经历作为诗歌创作的主题,保持传统的诗歌创作形式,并获得了巨大的成功。从弗罗斯特的两首名诗——《家葬》、《未选择之路》可探索其自传主题诗,发掘其诗歌创作的生活原型。     

一幅优美的画、一首耐人寻味的歌 --读《雪夜林边驻马》

罗伯特.弗罗斯特的《雪夜林边驻马》是一首倍受人们喜爱的诗歌,诗人在诗中给我们展示了一幅迷人的画。这首诗语言平易,貌似简单,意境却耐人寻味且极具乐感。     

A Poem of Exotic Tragic Beauty ——Appreciation of The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost

The Road Not Taken is one of the best known poems by Robert Frost.Simple and beautiful in form,it is profound in meaning.It reflects the tragedy of human beings as a whole and also the personal tragedy of the poet himself,and as a consequence,it is tinted with an exotic sense of tragic beauty.     

用归纳法证明基尔霍夫方程组解的存在与唯一性

用数学归纳法证明基尔霍夫方程的个数等于未知电流的个数,方程组的独立性,相容性,从而得出方程组解的存在与唯一性。     

An unusual silver celestial planisphere in the Whipple Museum

An unusual silver celestial planisphere is held in the collection of the Whipple Museum of the History of Science (Wh.1762); little information about this object is recorded in the museum’s documentation. A comparison of this silver example with celestial planispheres printed on paper, coupled with the consideration of other aspects of the lives and work of the cartographers and instrument-makers involved in producing such objects, suggests some possibilities regarding its production. Through this individual case study, I aim to demonstrate that the careful examination of an individual instrument, coupled with an understanding of the class of instruments to which it belongs and the milieu in which it was produced, can result in a deeper understanding of any given artefact, its circumstances of design and manufacture, and its intended use and users.     

《雪夜林边小立》的语言特色

《雪夜林边小立》是罗伯特.弗洛斯特所写的最著名的诗歌之一。他善于从音韵特征、词汇、句法和修辞手法等方面去把握诗歌的文体特征。他通过对诗歌意象的描写,把平淡无奇的东西点化成意味深长的诗韵。文章从不同的角度分析了《雪夜林边小立》的语言特色。