同心同德奔小康——二○○四年元旦献辞

新年的钟声又一次敲响,我们迎来了新世纪第四个年头。过去的一年,是我国各族人民难忘的一年。复杂多变的国际形势、突如其来的非典疫情、频繁发生的自然灾害,给我们的各项事业带来了许多意想不到的困难。然而,在以胡锦涛为总书记的党中央正确领导下,全国人民万众一心、团结奋斗,我们取得了比预料更好的成绩。在这一年,中国共产党胜利召开了十六届三中全会,审议通过了《中共中央关于完善社会主义市场经济体制若干问题的决定》和《中共中央关于修改宪法部分内容的建议》,对于全面建设小康社会,开创中国特色社会主义事业新局面提供了更强有力的…     

突出特色 夯实基础——2008年元旦献辞

“风雨送春归,飞雪迎春到”,当我们回顾2005年起步的时候,又迎来本刊历程中的第四个新的一年。     

一九九○年元旦随感

时代的巨轮飞速向前,一切不合时宜的东西,终被历史遗弃.随着迎新的钟声,整个世界进入九十年代.我们佛教在世界上已度过二千五百多个春秋.我们的教主释迦牟尼世尊是诞生于人间、成佛于人间、说法度生在人间.佛陀所倡导的佛法是重实践的,而佛陀的化度则重时节因缘和应机施教.如果离开生活实际和时代的潮流,佛法的延续就会受到挫折,更谈不上弘扬了.     

The feigenbaum scenario in a unified science of life and mind

In exploring the possibilities for creating a model of the creative cosmos, it is important to seek mathematical models that can express the common relationships unifying the sciences of matter, life and mind. Current candidates for such all embracing mathematical models come from the burgeoning fields of non‐linear dynamics that are described under varying labels as Chaos Theory, Self‐Organization Theory and Adaptive Complexity Theory. In this paper we will limit ourselves to only one mathematical model called, “The Feigenbaum Scenario.” A major virtue of The Feigenbaum Scenario is that it is relatively easy to understand by non‐mathematicians and it has led to new depths of profound understanding in a wide variety of the physical and biological sciences. Everything from purely mechanical systems, fluid dynamics and the weather to the patterns of biological growth in nature and the dynamics of heart, hormone and brain rhythms have been found to exhibit aspects of the Feigenbaum scenario. We explore the possibility that the Feigenbaum scenario can be extended to experiences of mind, sensation, perception and human behavior as well. We conclude that a major function of consciousness may be to transform the non‐linear, irrational, unconscious and difficult to predict dynamics of unconscious nature into the more linear, rational and predictable psycho‐dynamics that make human experience and social life possible.     

认真学习“三个代表”重要思想 为全面建设小康社会做出新贡献

在纪念中国共产党成立82周年的日子里,中共中央发出了《关于在全党兴起学习贯彻“三个代表”重要思想新高潮的通知》,中共中央总书记、国家主席胡锦涛在今年7月1日召开的“三个代表”重要思想理论研讨会上发表了重要讲话,他指出:兴起学习贯彻“三个代表”重要思想新高潮,是中国共产党第十六次代表大会提出的一项战略举措。当前,摆在全党全国人民面前的一项重大政治任务,就是把“三个代表”重要思想学习好、贯彻好、落实好,务必在武装思想和指导实践两方面都取得新的成效。以江泽民为代表的中共中央第三代领导集体,在新的历史条件下领导全国…     

When timing the mind one should also mind the timing: biases in the measurement of voluntary actions

Trevena and Miller (2002, this issue) provide further evidence that readiness potentials occur in the brain prior to the time that participants claim to have initiated a voluntary movement, a contention originally forwarded by Libet, Gleason, Wright, and Pearl (1983). In their examination of this issue, though, aspects of their data lead them to question whether their measurement of the initiation of a voluntary movement was accurate. The current article addresses this concern by providing a direct analysis of biases in this task. This was done by asking participants to make subjective timing decisions regarding a stimulus that could be measured objectively. Our findings suggest that their timing task was indeed biased such that participants' tend to report events as happening approximately 70 ms later than they actually happened. Implications for the original Libet et al. claims are discussed.     

Autopoietic enactivism,phenomenology and the deep continuity between life and mind

In their recent book Radicalizing Enactivism. Basic minds without content, Dan Hutto and Erik Myin (H&M) make two important criticisms of what they call autopoietic enactivism (AE). These two criticisms are that AE harbours tacit representationalists commitments and that it has too liberal a conception of cognition. Taking the latter claim as its main focus, this paper explores the theoretical underpinnings of AE in order to tease out how it might respond to H&M. In so doing it uncovers some reasons which not only appear to warrant H&M’s initial claims but also seem to point to further uneasy tensions within the AE framework. The paper goes beyond H&M by tracing the roots of these criticisms and apparent tensions to phenomenology and the role it plays in AE’s distinctive conception of strong life-mind continuity. It is highlighted that this phenomenological dimension of AE contains certain unexamined anthropomorphic and anthropogenic leanings which do not sit comfortably within its wider commitment to life-mind continuity. In light of this analysis it is suggested that AE will do well to rethink this role or ultimately run the risk of remaining theoretically unstable. The paper aims to contribute to the ongoing theoretical development of AE by highlighting potential internal tensions within its framework which need to be addressed in order for it to continue to evolve as a coherent paradigm.     

A comfortable attachment for a thermistor respiration transducer

The construction of a simple thermistor respiration-transducer support assembly, which allows the monitoring of respiration in human subjects without the discomfort often associated with more traditional attachment methods, is described.     

Making decisions with a continuous mind

Neuroeconomics is a rapidly expanding field at the interfaces of the human sciences. The interdisciplinary nature of this field results in several challenges when attempts are made to solve puzzling questions in human decision making, such as why and how people discount future gains. We argue that an empirical approach based on dynamic systems theory (DST) could inspire and advance the neuroeconomic investigation of decisionmaking processes in three ways: by enriching the mental model, by extending the empirical tool set, and by facilitating interdisciplinary exchange. The present article addresses the challenges neuroeconomics faces by focusing on intertemporal choice. After a brief introduction of DST and related research, a DST-based conceptual model of decision making is developed and linked to underlying neural principles. On this basis, we outline the application of DST-informed empirical strategies to intertemporal choice. Finally, we discuss the general consequences of and possible objections to the proposed approach to research in intertemporal choice and the field of neuroeconomics.