Thinking

This chapter provides a concise history of philosophical ideas about thinking and knowing, tracing how they have developed from ancient Greece to the present day. It begins with the Pre-Socratic philosophers, whose reflections on reality and change established thinking as a way of uncovering the principles of existence. The discussion then turns to Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle, showing how questioning, reflection, and logic became central to the Western philosophical tradition. The chapter then explores medieval scholasticism, where thinkers such as Augustine, Aquinas, and Maimonides sought to reconcile faith with reason, creating a more holistic model of thought that valued both logic and introspection. Early modern philosophers like Descartes, Locke, and Hume introduced new debates about how knowledge is formed, contrasting the roles of reason and experience. Later sections highlight the contributions of existentialism and phenomenology, which repositioned thinking as a lived and embodied activity, closely linked to freedom, emotion, and meaning. The chapter concludes by considering how 20th- and 21st-century philosophy and cognitive science continue to explore the relationship between thought, consciousness, and the body.

This chapter brings philosophy into everyday life, showing how anyone can practise thinking well through ordinary moments. It begins by arguing that philosophy is not only something to study but something to do. Through simple examples – like asking ‘what’s for lunch?’ – it demonstrates how abstract reasoning can emerge from daily experience, turning familiar thoughts into gateways to deeper reflection. The concept of desire becomes a lens for examining how modern life shapes what we want, from social media trends to health marketing. The chapter then explores how philosophy helps us question misleading narratives, using examples such as anti-vaccine movements and health influencers to reveal how persuasion often hides within language and imagery. In the second half, the focus turns to practical ethics in healthcare, exploring assisted dying as an example of how conflicting values (autonomy, compassion, and dignity) shape moral reasoning. The final section offers exercises for cultivating ambiguity and ethical attention: reading literature slowly, keeping a question journal, and engaging in open, dialogic conversation. Thinking well, it concludes, is a lifelong practice of attention and care.

This chapter explores the relationship between knowledge, uncertainty, and the art of thinking well. It begins with a paradox familiar to anyone who has studied deeply: the more we know, the more we realise how much we do not know. Rather than treating this as a failure, the chapter shows how uncertainty can become a foundation for wiser and more compassionate ways of thinking. By examining philosophical ideas about ambiguity, humility, and over-certainty, it invites readers to see uncertainty not as confusion, but as a space for ethical attention and openness to others.

This chapter explores how philosophy can be understood as the art of thinking. It opens by questioning the assumption that philosophy is simply ‘complicated thinking’, suggesting instead that it represents a creative and disciplined practice that engages imagination, skill, and emotion. The authors position philosophy as both reflective and generative: it not only analyses the world but also creates new ways of understanding it. Where science might describe how thought occurs, philosophy concerns itself with how we come to know what we know, and how reflection, questioning, and ethical reasoning shape our lives. Through comparisons with painting and other creative arts, the chapter shows that philosophy shares art’s commitment to exploration and expression. It involves practice, revision, and an acceptance of uncertainty, much like the artist who studies, sketches, and reworks their canvas. The discussion of thought experiments, such as the Trolley Problem, illustrates how philosophy uses imagination to explore ethical dilemmas that cannot be tested in real life, encouraging deeper reflection on moral judgement and human responsibility. The chapter invites readers to see philosophy as an accessible and practical skill rather than an abstract discipline. It offers guidance on thinking in a structured way, questioning assumptions, and embracing ambiguity.

This chapter explores how philosophical thinking continues to shape health and healthcare in the modern world. Building on earlier historical and cross-cultural discussions, it considers how philosophy moves beyond theory to influence clinical practice, professional well-being, and public health. Through examples from mental health, clinical ethics, and contemporary debates, the chapter shows how philosophy can guide reflection, strengthen decision-making, and challenge established norms within healthcare systems. Across these examples, the chapter argues that philosophy remains vital to health today, and for sustaining empathy, curiosity, and moral clarity in a complex and rapidly changing world.

This chapter traces the long history of philosophy and health, showing how ideas about healing, knowledge, and the body have evolved together. Beginning in ancient Greece, it explores how myth and philosophy shaped medicine’s earliest ethical questions. The chapter moves through medieval and Renaissance philosophy to show how faith, reason, and anatomy coexisted and at times conflicted. Enlightenment philosophers expanded these debates, questioning causation, autonomy, and the moral limits of scientific progress. Later sections explore how industrialisation, war, and social inequality shaped philosophical responses to health, from Hegel’s critique of biological formalism to de Beauvoir’s feminist challenge to medicine’s male-centred assumptions. The chapter closes by examining postmodern and contemporary critiques that ask who benefits from medical progress and how power, bureaucracy, and exclusion continue to shape care.

This opening chapter introduces the central question of the book: what does it mean to think, and why does it matter for health? Thinking is something we do constantly, yet we rarely stop to notice how we do it or how it shapes our well-being. The chapter begins by inviting readers to slow down and observe their own patterns of thought, showing how reflection on thinking can deepen understanding of both mind and body. It traces connections between thought and health, explaining how mental states influence physical well-being and how a narrow focus on disease has limited our understanding of how positive thinking and emotion can promote flourishing. The discussion highlights that thinking about health is never purely biological but also ethical, involving decisions about what we value and how we choose to live.

This chapter explores how different cultural and philosophical traditions around the world have shaped ideas about thinking, health, and well-being. It invites readers to move beyond the assumption that Western philosophy and medicine hold a monopoly on truth, and to consider diverse ways of knowing that have long sustained communities elsewhere. Through Eastern, African, and Indigenous philosophies, the chapter highlights the diverse ways that people understand what it means to live well and to think well. The chapter concludes by suggesting that listening to these perspectives can expand our understanding of health, reminding us that to think well is also to live well.

1885 年就对科学种族主义展开抨击的海地知识分子费尔明,以及 1925 年就对人种理论给予驳斥的中国学者潘光旦,具备近年来学界所称的南部理论先驱者特质.一方面,费尔明对19 世纪后半叶欧美体质人类学家鼓吹的颅相学之谴责,可谓当代批判种族理论的先声.另一方面,潘光旦对披上科学外衣的"优越种族"意识形态与 20 世纪初军国主义兴起的联系之解析,可以说是带着一种震撼力揭示了种族主义国族论作茧自缚的深刻道理.

伴随着边疆地区在国家整体利益格局中的战略地位日益凸显,加强边境管理、稳边固边成为当前国家治理现代化的重要战略,也是铸牢中华民族共同体意识的重要路径.边民证制度是国家间人员往来护照制度的延伸和补充,是边境管理制度专业化、精细化的产物.作为中国与周边国家边境管理的制度性举措之一,边民证是现代国家在继承和承认边境地区地理社会传统基础上,在边境管理强化后为边民互动提供便利的创新举措,其目的是通过配合一系列其他的边境建设及管理措施,巩固发展边境地区社会经济发展水平,更好地达到稳边固边的目的.边民证制度的完善与运用实践,进一步规范了边境秩序,也在边境治理的进程中铸牢边疆群众中华民族共同体意识.

我国的非法证据排除在实践中不尽人意,这与非法证据排除规则的生成方式有着密切关系.以司法规范为主导确立的非法证据排除规则,带来该证据规则的不稳定、排除价值取向和标准的多元、排除规则的前后矛盾,以及对刑事诉讼法的突破和扩张等结构性困境,并由此产生了非法证据排除规则体系建构的若干缺陷:一是非法证据排除的基本理念和原则欠缺;二是非法证据排除的基本标准和尺度仍为空白;三是非法证据排除规则的技术手段欠缺等.非法证据排除规则的结构性问题和自身体系中的缺陷,并非通过绝对的法典化立法方式就可解决,综合性而非单一性的非法证据排除规则生成方式仍是较稳妥的选择,即采取以法典规范的总体指导思想、基本原则和标准为基础,以司法解释的技术性规定和指导性案例具体情形例举相结合的规范模式较为合理.

田野工作乃人类学研究的基石,也是人类学者与他者沟通,与世界相连的重要手段.随着信息时代的到来,时空压缩、流动加速、数码技术、人工智能逐步影响和改变着人们的生活.人的存在状态,人与人,人与物以及人与自然的关系都发生着极大转变.在虚拟与现实共存的当下,人类学研究需要更新思维,以更加贴近网络情境的方式来获取信息,创造虚拟与现实世界的连接,重新思考我们身处的世界.最终,信息时代的人类学研究需要通过对数码技术及其带来的社会文化后果的关注,审视科学、技术与社会的关联和互动,以其特有的方式回应人类学的基本问题.

党的二十大报告中蕴含丰富的爱国主义思想,是新时代新征程爱国主义教育的重要遵循和行动指南,明确了新时代新征程爱国主义要以中国式现代化全面推进中华民族伟大复兴、坚持和完善"一国两制"推进祖国统一、坚决贯彻总体国家安全观为宏伟目标;确立了爱国主义要以坚持和加强党的全面领导、坚持中国特色社会主义道路、深入实施人才强国战略为基本原则,体现了新时代爱国主义的本质特征;拓展了爱国主义的全面推进中国特色大国外交、为人类谋进步为世界谋大同、推动构建人类命运共同体的国际视野,凸显了爱国主义与国际主义的内在一致性.

宋元时期在中华民族的发展史上具有深远的影响,也积累了丰富的经验.首先,这一时期,中国历史上迎来了多民族语文并用时代,且经过数百年的交往交流交融,各民族在语文的掌握和使用上已形成多语文共享共用的新格局.元代大一统多民族国家的新现实,在语文上的反映就是国家通用语文思想的产生和实践.其次,这一时期中国各民族在思想文化上的相互影响和吸收的加速发展,增进和加强了各民族彼此在文化上和思想上的共享精神世界的形成.最后,随着各民族的交往交流交融的深化,形成了中国思想史上各民族思想文化共同繁荣,促进了宋元时期各民族间在思想文化上的共同性的发展,为铸牢中华民族共同体意识提供了宝贵的历史镜鉴.

春秋战国是中国历史发展的一个十字路口.后来的历史走向证明,结束诸侯长期征战的出路在于统一局面的出现,并给中国带来向前发展的巨大历史机遇.在战国向秦汉统一局面的转折中,承担了重大使命并发挥重要作用的正是"战国七雄"中的秦、楚两国.与"七雄"中其他五国相比较,秦、楚的共同特点是地处边僻,并大量吸纳戎狄、蛮夷成份,这使他们的"华夏"身份较模糊和边缘化,但唯其如此,赋予他们开创"新传统"的可能性与力量.战国秦汉之际中国历史走势充分印证了"和实生物、同则不继",即对"西戎""蛮夷"等新的相对于"华夏"的异质性因素的吸纳与兼容并包.这一进程不但拓展了"华夏"内涵与地域,也成为决定中国历史走势的关键性因素.

文化是一种象征符号的能量,也是一个动力系统.文化能量观技术的、社会学的及意识形态的三层文化系统,恰好回答了目前中国安宁疗护面临的三个关键问题和三个方面困境,即谁能做、为谁做和怎么做安宁疗护的问题."谁能做"安宁疗护是技术系统,指从事安宁疗护需要的资质和条件,包括人、物、术三个方面.目前人才缺乏和养老院难以提供安宁疗护是这方面的主要困境;"为谁做"安宁疗疗护是社会学系统,主要困境是没有明确"为谁服务"的问题.本着"以患者需求为中心"的理念理顺各种关系,这是安宁疗护顺利发展的制度保障;"怎么做"安宁疗护是意识形态系统,是指安宁疗护的观念和价值观如何在个人和社会层面被认可,这是解决安宁疗护发展及困境最根本的方法.三层文化系统彼此互动,相互制约.协调好三层文化系统并充分发挥其文化能量,可以推动安宁疗护在中国内地的良性发展.

20世纪中叶以来,全世界游牧民大多被整合进地域系统、国家系统和资本主义世界经济体系之中.祁连作为古老的牧区,是后发现代化中的后发地区,其现代化进程主要发生在中华人民共和国成立之后.经过现代政治组织建设、社会主义改造以及定居后再社会化和城镇化,改革开放后迎来各个方面的现代化.祁连牧区的案例表明,中国的现代化并非资本主义渗透的结果,而是更多体现了国家主导的社会主义治理.在这场由国家启动主导的现代化进程中,地方与牧民的参与性和自主性得到了充分发挥.

哈尼族蘑菇房是世界文化遗产红河哈尼梯田景观的重要组成部分.作为一个社会空间,蘑菇房具有丰富的文化意义.社会生活变迁导致的家屋变化不仅体现在建筑材质、结构布局、空间大小等方面,而且还体现在表达社会关系以及呈现文化意义的各种符号方面.哈尼族传统家屋内的中柱和神龛显示出人们关于幸福本原的传统性理解.随着生活的不断改善,图像文化符号开始进入哈尼族新的家屋.中柱和神龛以及新近涌现的家庭成员图像和国家领导人图像等符号的并置,表征的是幸福泉源在于慎终追远,承继懿德,家庭成员共同努力,国家帮扶振兴乡村.

我国一个半世纪的现代化探索历程表明,马克思主义基本原理与中华优秀传统文化相结合的社会主义现代化提供了人口规模庞大的发展中国家成功走向持续繁荣发展道路的典范,推动各地区各民族共同走向社会主义现代化,开辟了解决民族问题的正确道路.中华民族共同体建设和中国式现代化以中华民族伟大复兴为共同的历史方位和共同的奋斗目标,在构筑中华民族共有精神家园、促进各民族交往交流交融、增进中华文化共同性与弱化各族文化差异性等方面具有高度的耦合性,因此,中国式现代化就是全面推动中华民族共同体建设的最为有力有效的动力来源.

随着"一带一路"倡议下的国际交流与合作不断加深,来华留学生规模持续增长.吸引优秀留学生群体毕业后在华发展,是中国加快构建"双循环"新发展格局下育才引才用才的重要环节,对于助力中国的科技创新与发展,提升中国在国际人才市场的竞争力和影响力至关重要.随着"一带一路"倡议的深入推进,政策效应和影响力逐渐凸显,留学生对该倡议的评价越正面积极,留华发展的可能性越大.留学生建立的中国人"朋友圈",加强了留学生与中国的联系,加速了留学生更好地融入中国,从而吸引他们留在中国工作和生活.中国政府奖学金为来自"一带一路"沿线国家中下层家庭的留学生继续求学提供了实质性的帮助,也吸引了更多的留学生毕业后留在中国发展.留学生来源国的经济发展状况相对落后,其毕业后更倾向于留在中国发展.