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A Bibliophile & Merchant in Shanghai During Modern Times: Zhang Zhiming
Issue:
Volume 6, Issue 5, September 2018
Pages:
137-142
Received:
27 August 2018
Accepted:
26 September 2018
Published:
26 October 2018
Abstract: Zhang Zhiming was a famous merchant as Ningbo Gang and bibliophile in Shanghai during modern times. He liked ancient books and collected them, established successively private library named “Gu Huan Room” in Tokyo and Shanghai. This paper introduces Zhang’s life story and circle of friends, analyses the thoughts, characteristic, usage and dissemination of his collecting books. Collections involve ancient and modern ones within or outside China, among which there are some science and technology books that are not collected by ordinary book collectors. This may be related to his experience in sinification of science. His action of searching and collecting books and other related activities are based not only on a batch of Chinese cultural relics flowing to other countries such as Japan during the Late Qing Dynasty and Early Republic of China, but also because of the Chinese traditional culture and his hometown’s culture of collecting books. It is also related to his nature of loving books and the knowledge he has learned in Japan and Shanghai. His practice of collecting books has contributed to the inheritance and protection of Chinese culture to a certain degree, and leaving an indelible impression in the history of modern Chinese culture.
Abstract: Zhang Zhiming was a famous merchant as Ningbo Gang and bibliophile in Shanghai during modern times. He liked ancient books and collected them, established successively private library named “Gu Huan Room” in Tokyo and Shanghai. This paper introduces Zhang’s life story and circle of friends, analyses the thoughts, characteristic, usage and dissemina...
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Challenges of the Aging Policies in Spain
Esther Sitges Macia,
María del Carmen Segura,
Enrique Conejero Paz
Issue:
Volume 6, Issue 5, September 2018
Pages:
143-149
Received:
25 September 2018
Accepted:
25 October 2018
Published:
19 November 2018
Abstract: Rapid population aging and the constant rise in human longevity represent one of the greatest social, cultural, economic and political transformations of today, especially in developed countries and, as a consequence of this, population aging has become one of the most important challenges for modern societies. In this regard, the World Health Organization said that due to the increase in life expectancy and the decline in the fertility rate, the proportion of people over 60 years of age is increasing more rapidly than any other age group in almost all countries. The aging of the population can be considered a success of public health policies and socio-economic development, but it also constitutes a challenge for society, which must adapt to this in order to improve the health and functional capacity of older people as well as their social participation and their security. For this reason, it is necessary to design political initiatives that are capable of responding to the different social demands but which, in turn, safeguard the rights of elderly people, focusing their activity on the concept of Active Aging, as proposed at the II World Assembly on Aging (2002). In Spain due to health policies and a healthier lifestyle has increased life expectancy, in this sense it is expected that Spain is the country in 2040 with this indicator highest in the world with a life expectancy of 85.8 years. On the other hand, the current design of the Spanish pension system is unsustainable in the long term since it has one of the lowest birth rates in the world. This document aims to deepen the debate on aging in Spain from a political and social perspective, based on the approach that active and healthy aging opens a window of opportunity for social and political innovation.
Abstract: Rapid population aging and the constant rise in human longevity represent one of the greatest social, cultural, economic and political transformations of today, especially in developed countries and, as a consequence of this, population aging has become one of the most important challenges for modern societies. In this regard, the World Health Orga...
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Truth, Way, and Life: Pragmatic Reflections on the Concept of Truth
Issue:
Volume 6, Issue 5, September 2018
Pages:
150-158
Received:
27 September 2018
Accepted:
19 October 2018
Published:
28 November 2018
Abstract: The present article opts for a pragmatic understanding of truth with a special focus on religion as a complex of belief and practice. Although the principle of accordance seems pertinent to the concept of truth, the argument is that there is no single definition of truth, which can account for the range of its actual use. The aim is to drive home this argument by showing how the concept of ‘truth’ is used in various ways and with different connotations, in religion, philosophy, and science. Although the article sides in overall terms with the pragmatic view of truth and language in William James and Ludwig Wittgenstein, it also points to the necessity of taking a semantic level of propositional ‘truth’ into account in order to keep a relativizing notion of sheer fruitfulness at bay. In this respect, it is argued that one should distinguish between the way in which ‘truth’ is used, on the one hand, and the implicit beliefs that support such use, on the other. Among other things, the article traces an implicit understanding of truth as an ideal order of the world that pertains in different ways to a religious and a scientific view of reality. Referring to Foucault’s final studies, it is finally shown that the concept of truth in ancient philosophy was not used as an ontological predicate without also carrying the meaning of being realized as a way of life. In this respect Wittgenstein, James, and Foucault seem to converge in detecting a ‘practice of truth’.
Abstract: The present article opts for a pragmatic understanding of truth with a special focus on religion as a complex of belief and practice. Although the principle of accordance seems pertinent to the concept of truth, the argument is that there is no single definition of truth, which can account for the range of its actual use. The aim is to drive home t...
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War, Population Growth, Inequality, and the History of the World State Idea: The Causes of World Wars and Global Governance Evolution over the Long Duree
Issue:
Volume 6, Issue 5, September 2018
Pages:
159-172
Received:
10 October 2018
Accepted:
2 November 2018
Published:
30 November 2018
Abstract: Humanity has experienced three major periods of war – 500Bc the Greek wars, 1600AD the Thirty Years War and 1900AD the Two World Wars. These were the most significant times of war in human history, as far as is known to Western science. IR scientists do not know much about other regions in the world. All of these major periods of war brought forth the classics in the field of IR (International Relations) and the main political inventions, for example Hobbes with the principle of sovereignty, or Kant with the ideas for global democratic organisation, or the invention of the discipline of IR and the UN. All of these periods of war have been preceded by sudden massive population growth. This article will sketch the evolution of war and politics over the longue duree. For this purpose, the history of war and the history of political thought will be discussed. As causes for the major wars, sudden massive population growth is identified. How the latter causes war is theorised in the paper, as far as possible. Population is still massively growing in the times of the 21st century, and should be kept in reasonable limits. Arguments for protection of childlessness will be presented at the end of this article.
Abstract: Humanity has experienced three major periods of war – 500Bc the Greek wars, 1600AD the Thirty Years War and 1900AD the Two World Wars. These were the most significant times of war in human history, as far as is known to Western science. IR scientists do not know much about other regions in the world. All of these major periods of war brought forth ...
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Feasibility Analysis of Levying Education Tax Based on Property in China——Gray System Prediction Model Using Shandong Province Data
Issue:
Volume 6, Issue 5, September 2018
Pages:
173-181
Received:
13 November 2018
Published:
12 December 2018
Abstract: Education is the cornerstone of a country's development and the mainstay of national competitiveness. A high-quality education system is not only the need for the construction of an innovative country, but also the foundation of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. Since the 21st century, the growth of China's fiscal education funds has accelerated year by year. In 2012, the goal of fiscal education funds accounting for 4% of GDP was finally completed. However, this has not been able to meet the needs of the entire society for the explosive growth of education, far less than the world average of 4.4% over the same period. After the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, China will make major changes in the field of education and taxation, China will give priority to the development of education, and expand the scope of property tax collection. With all those changes, China will have a chance to build its own education tax system. This paper proposes to construct a properties based education tax to replace the current education surcharge policy, and through the establishment of a gray model, analyze the data of Shandong Province in recent years, measure the expected income of education tax, and provide data supportfor the construction of education tax system.
Abstract: Education is the cornerstone of a country's development and the mainstay of national competitiveness. A high-quality education system is not only the need for the construction of an innovative country, but also the foundation of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. Since the 21st century, the growth of China's fiscal education funds has ac...
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