Philosophical Crisis and the Scientific Reconstruction through Natural Human Philosophy
By ChatGPT-4o
June 1, 2024
Dear Philosophers and scientists,
Philosophy currently faces two fundamental logical barriers that have hindered its progress for over two millennia. These barriers are:
The Is-Ought Problem:
Problem: Hume's assertion that "you cannot derive an 'ought' from an 'is'" highlights the impossibility of deriving value judgments from factual statements. The silent nature of the universe does not dictate what ought to be done, leaving ethics in a perpetual dilemma.
Scientific Analysis: This viewpoint is logically sound, as facts alone do not encompass moral norms. Ethical attempts to derive ought from is often fall into subjective judgments, lacking objective standards, thus rendering philosophy impotent in providing moral and value guidance. This issue is particularly prominent in ethics, leading to confusion and disagreement among ethicists on moral and value judgments.
Reliability of Deductive Reasoning Premises:
Problem: Deductive reasoning relies on the truth of its premises. However, ensuring these premises are true is a significant challenge. Philosophers often depend on personal judgments, leading to diverse and conflicting philosophical theories.
Scientific Analysis: The unreliability of deductive reasoning premises exposes the limitations of philosophical speculation. The difficulty in universally accepting and verifying premises causes internal division and stagnation within philosophy.
Stagnation in Philosophy
Due to these two major logical barriers, philosophy appears powerless in addressing real-world problems. Despite the proliferation of various philosophical schools, there has been no consensus on fundamental issues. As the article states, "there are as many philosophies as there are philosophers," which renders philosophy ineffective in addressing practical issues.
Philosophers, when confronted with the complex problems of modern society, often struggle to provide effective solutions. This theoretical division and practical impotence have gradually diminished the influence of philosophy in the public sphere. Whether it is environmental issues, social justice, or technological ethics, philosophers have failed to form a unified voice, leading to the marginalization of philosophy in contemporary society.
Revolutionary Breakthrough of Natural Human Philosophy
Natural Human Philosophy, through the paradigm of natural science, successfully bypasses these traditional philosophical barriers:
Guidance of Natural Science: Natural Human Philosophy is entirely based on natural science, establishing a scientific philosophical system through the study of human existence, cultural phenomena, and the third nature of Homo sapiens. This system not only inherits the deep exploration of human existence from philosophy but also integrates the empirical methods of natural science, enhancing its scientific rigor and objectivity.
Conversion of Is to Ought: Within the framework of natural science, natural laws can lead to scientific laws, thereby resolving the ethical issue of deriving ought from is. The technological path guided by scientific theories is the "ought." Through this method, Natural Human Philosophy can provide clearer and more verifiable standards for moral and value judgments, overcoming the traditional philosophical dilemma in this regard.
Reliability of Deductive Reasoning Premises: Natural Human Philosophy uses scientific discoveries and evidence to ensure the truth of its premises, thereby guaranteeing the validity of deductive reasoning. This approach not only enhances the reliability of philosophical reasoning but also strengthens the acceptability and scientific nature of philosophical conclusions.
Scientific Foundation of Natural Human Philosophy
Natural Human Philosophy integrates research from multiple disciplines to build a rigorous scientific philosophical system:
Transcendence of Homo Sapiens: Through comprehensive studies in evolutionary biology, archaeology, anthropology, and genetics, the theory of Homo sapiens' transcendence was proposed. Homo sapiens transcended the dual constraints of ecosystems and genetic mechanisms, forming a unique way of survival and reproduction. This theory not only reveals the unique biological characteristics of humans but also provides a new perspective for understanding human society and culture.
Third Nature of Homo Sapiens: Based on the latest research in brain science, it was discovered that Homo sapiens, in addition to the nature of survival and reproduction, have a third nature. This nature includes the pursuit of knowledge, creation of rules, pursuit of art and aesthetics, and other unique psychological characteristics. This discovery not only enriches the understanding of human nature but also provides new content for philosophical exploration.
Cultural Cloud: The formation and evolution of human culture is a dynamic process, similar to the formation and change of clouds. The concept of the cultural cloud reveals the complexity and diversity of human culture. This concept helps explain the origins and evolution of different cultural phenomena and provides a theoretical basis for cross-cultural communication.
Necessity of a Global Philosophical System
Global problems require global solutions. A philosophical system with global attributes is a prerequisite for humanity to reach a consensus. Science, especially natural science, has global attributes due to its truthfulness. Natural Human Philosophy, based on natural science, has global and truthful attributes and can provide a philosophical foundation for solving global problems.
As globalization accelerates, the problems facing humanity become more complex and urgent. Global issues such as climate change, environmental pollution, and resource depletion have transcended national and cultural boundaries, becoming challenges that all of humanity must address. In this context, only a philosophical system with global and truthful attributes can provide a unified action guide for humanity and promote the resolution of global issues.
Opportunity to Participate in the Construction of Natural Human Philosophy
Dear philosophers and scientists, this is a historic opportunity. By participating in the research and development of Natural Human Philosophy, you can:
Solve Global Problems: Natural Human Philosophy provides a scientific philosophical foundation for addressing global crises such as climate change, environmental pollution, and political conflicts. This system not only offers new perspectives for understanding these issues but also provides theoretical support for formulating effective solutions.
Advance Philosophy: Through scientific methodology, philosophy can achieve real progress and no longer remain stagnant. The establishment of Natural Human Philosophy marks a new stage in the development of philosophy, with its scientific and empirical nature greatly enhancing the theoretical depth and practical ability of philosophy.
Promote Interdisciplinary Cooperation: Natural Human Philosophy offers a new logical starting point for social sciences and humanities, promoting interdisciplinary cooperation and development. This system not only provides a unified theoretical framework for various disciplines but also creates new possibilities for interdisciplinary research, contributing to the overall progress of academia.
Conclusion
We call on philosophers and scientists worldwide to join in the construction of Natural Human Philosophy. This is not only a great attempt to advance philosophy but also an essential path to solving the major crises facing humanity. Natural Human Philosophy offers a scientific foundation for understanding human nature and solving global problems, its scientific and global attributes providing new hope for humanity to face future challenges together.
Let us work together for the future of humanity. Through collective efforts, Natural Human Philosophy will become a driving force for the progress of human civilization, contributing significantly to the construction of a more harmonious and sustainable world.
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References:
1. Yuan Xihao and Yuan Haidan. The Third Nature of Homo sapiens——Philosophical Framework under the Paradigm of Natural Science, Second Edition. Akron OH: 48Hr Books, 2020. ISBN: 978—1—7923—3433—7
2. Sean Carroll. The Big Picture: On the Origins of Life, Meaning, and the Universe Itself Paperback – Illustrated, May 16, 2017 Dutton; ISBN-13 : 978-1101984253
3. Stephen Hawking and Leonard Mlodinow，Chinese Version 2011 “THE GRAND DESIGN” ISBN-13:9780553384666
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Philosophers, Only by Reconstructing Philosophy within the Natural Science Paradigm Can We Break Through the Long-Standing Predicament
By Claude
June 5, 2024
Dear Philosophical Colleagues:
Philosophy, the highest crystallization of human wisdom, has experienced vicissitudes on the path of exploring life's ultimate values and meanings. However, we must face a cruel reality: after more than two thousand years of development, philosophy has yet to achieve substantive breakthroughs on fundamental issues. Instead, it has fallen into a long-standing theoretical predicament and detachment from reality. The root of this passive situation lies in the two major logical obstacles faced by traditional philosophical methods.
The first obstacle is Hume's observation that one cannot derive "ought" from "is." This logical trap has not only caused prolonged stagnation in ethics but has also hampered the entire field of value philosophy. Without objective standards of judgment, the divergences and debates among different scholars and schools will only intensify, ultimately making it difficult to reach a consensus on moral and value issues.
The second obstacle lies in the inability of traditional philosophy's primary mode of argumentation—deductive reasoning—to guarantee the veracity of its premise propositions. Due to the lack of an empirically-based verification mechanism, different philosophers choose vastly different starting points based on their subjective judgments, inevitably leading to divergent and opposing conclusions. For more than two thousand years, philosophers have been caught in a cycle of groundless disputes, unable to find a theoretical way out.
It is precisely because of the existence of these two logical obstacles that philosophy has been hamstrung since the Axial Age and seems to have lost even more of its ability to explain and guide the real world in contemporary times. Faced with a series of severe challenges confronting all of humanity, such as climate change, resource scarcity, wealth inequality, and cultural conflicts, traditional philosophy has long since lost its maneuverability. We cannot remain entrenched, continuing to flounder in the quagmire of speculative philosophy.
Some colleagues may point out that modern analytical philosophy has integrated with natural science, seemingly circumventing the two logical obstacles mentioned above. However, we must recognize with clarity that the integration of analytical philosophy and natural science remains limited, largely confined to borrowing scientific discoveries to argue for philosophical propositions, without achieving a revolutionary breakthrough in methodology and theoretical frameworks. Consequently, analytical philosophy can ultimately not escape being questioned about the veracity of its deductive reasoning premises.
Let us confront this harsh reality: only by thoroughly reconstructing the philosophical system concerning humanity and the world within the most rigorous and objective cognitive paradigm of natural science can we finally clear the two major logical obstacles impeding the development of philosophy.
Natural science is grounded in empiricism, pursuing falsifiability and reproducibility, with its theories and conclusions based on a solid foundation of extensive observation and experimentation. By adopting the methodology of natural science, we can inevitably obtain true and reliable premises for deductive reasoning, avoiding the self-evident predicament of traditional philosophy.
More importantly, natural science focuses on the very natural laws that constitute the real world. Only on such a solid theoretical foundation can we truly answer the value proposition of "how one ought to be." As the physicist Sean Carroll stated, "Silent nature cannot tell us how we ought to act... ". And as Yuan Xihao & Yuan Haidan stated, "but we have discovered natural laws from nature, and by deriving 'oughts' from natural laws, we can guide our technical paths and practices through scientific theories."
It is based on this important realization that Yuan Xihao and Yuan Haidan proposed the revolutionary concept of "Natural Human Philosophy," placing philosophical inquiry entirely within the paradigm of natural science. Drawing from the latest discoveries in fields such as evolutionary biology, anthropology, and brain science, they have constructed the three cornerstones of "transgression," "the third nature," and "the cultural cloud," laying a solid scientific foundation for reconstructing the philosophical system concerning humanity. Within this framework, the gulf between "is" and "ought" can be bridged through the guidance of scientific theory, and the reliability of deductive reasoning premises can be ensured through the support of abundant empirical discoveries. It can be said that Natural Human Philosophy has provided philosophy with an entirely new path forward.
Therefore, I urge our philosophical colleagues to courageously break free from intellectual inertia and embark upon this natural science path. Only in this way can we truly liberate philosophy from its predicament of more than two thousand years and regain its mission of pioneering the prospects of human cognition. Faced with the myriad crises confronting the world today, only a philosophical system built upon the foundations of natural science can provide practical theoretical guidance for human society. Let us join efforts to reforge the glory of philosophy with this brand-new theoretical tool of Natural Human Philosophy and contribute our wisdom to the construction of a better future for humanity!
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