Defeasible Reasoning + Partial Models: A Formal Framework for the Methodology of Research Programs

In this paper we show that any reasoning process in which conclusions can be both fallible and corrigible can be formalized in terms of two approaches: (i) syntactically, with the use of defeasible reasoning, according to which reasoning consists in the construction and assessment of arguments for and against a given claim, and (ii) semantically, with the use of partial structures, which allow for the representation of less than conclusive information. We are particularly interested in the formalization of scientific reasoning, along the lines traced by Lakatos’ methodology of scientific research programs. We show how current debates in cosmology could be put into this framework, shedding light on a very controversial topic.     

Foundations and Methodology for an Evolutionary World View: A Review of the Principia Cybernetica Project

The Principia Cybernetica Project was created to develop an integrated philosophy or world view, based on the theories of evolution, self-organization, systems and cybernetics. Its conceptual network has been implemented as an extensive website. The present paper reviews the assumptions behind the project, focusing on its rationale, its philosophical presuppositions, and its concrete methodology for computer-supported collaborative development. Principia Cybernetica starts from a process ontology, where a sequence of elementary actions produces ever more complex forms of organization through the mechanism of variation and selection, and metasystem transition. Its epistemology is constructivist and evolutionary: models are constructed by subjects for their own purposes, but undergo selection by the environment. Its ethics takes fitness and the continuation of evolution as the basic value, and derives more concrete guidelines from this implicit purpose. Together, these postulates and their implications provide answers to a range of age-old philosophical questions.     

全球问题与可持续发展问题的博弈分析框架

讨论全球问题和可持续发展的文献,一般将人与自然的协调发展作为解决全球问题、实现可持续发展的关键。本文认为,只有同时实现人与自然的协调发展和人与人的协调发展,才能解决全球问题、实现可持续发展。进一步讲,在人与自然的协调发展和人与人的协调发展这两者当中,人与人的协调发展是更为根本的。正是从这个根本入手,本文引入重复囚犯困境博弈,深入分析了实现人与人的协调发展,以及最终解决全球问题和实现可持续发展的前景和途径等问题。     

我国基础研究人才评价与待遇匹配问题与对策

基础研究成果只承认世界第一,因而评价的标准较高,但现阶段我国基础研究人员待遇不仅远低于发达国家,而且明显低于从事其他研发活动的人员。为促进基础研究人才健康成长,我国一些大学采取了一些新举措,力求做到评价与待遇匹配。国家相关部门应支持这些大学的举措,并采取进一步的政策措施。     

A Criterion Based on the Mahalanobis Distance for Cluster Analysis with Subsampling

A two-level data set consists of entities of a higher level (say populations), each one being composed of several units of the lower level (say individuals). Observations are made at the individual level, whereas population characteristics are aggregated from individual data. Cluster analysis with subsampling of populations is a cluster analysis based on individual data that aims at clustering populations rather than individuals. In this article, we extend existing optimality criteria for cluster analysis with subsampling of populations to deal with situations where population characteristics are not the mean of individual data. A new criterion that depends on the Mahalanobis distance is also defined. The criteria are compared using simulated examples and an ecological data set of tree species in a tropical rain forest.     

如何驱动企业生态创新?——基于制度理论与利益相关者理论的个案研究

本文以位于浙江省杭州市的一家铅酸电池制造企业为案例,抓住制度压力来源主体,识别影响企业生态创新的关键利益相关者以及他们影响企业生态创新的内在机制,主要结论如下:第一,政府环保导向、客户环保导向、竞争者环保导向、高管环保意识是影响企业生态创新四大主要因素,影响着生态创新的不同维度;第二,政府环保导向、客户环保导向影响企业生态创新的内在机制主要包括规制、规范惩罚以及资源利诱,竞争者环保导向影响企业生态创新的内在机制主要是规制、规范合法性竞赛以及资源争夺竞赛,高管环保意识影响企业生态创新的内在机制则包括道德和利益驱动两个方面。     

从科学救国到佛学救世--我国近代地学先驱张相文

本文根据大量史料,介绍了中国近代地学先驱张相文的生平,特别是首次向学界展示了他晚年的精神追求,剖析了他从科学救国到佛学救世的心路历程,并将其生命中三个十年中三种不同追求,放在同时期中国两次民族反思和同时期中国人认识科学的四个阶段的大背景下,分析了他对科学的认识和皈依佛门的原因,给予其以客观的历史评价。