Volume 4

This paper will be devoted to the discussion of the concept of goal in human understanding. The scientific discussion of it can be traced back to ancient Greece, where it was called teleology. This triggered a lot of questions: as theories prostrating the universe as uniformed emerged, these types of teleological ideas were attracted by natural philosophers studying determinism: things do not exist to serve a purpose, they exist only because, under the influence of other things in the world, they have to be there. The sun is not there to provide brightness to the world, it was there long before the exitance of the world. Nevertheless, the unsettling problem is that human beings do, a lot of times, think in a goal-directed way, so how to reconcile the fact that no teleological language can explain natural phenomena with the fact that teleological thinking exists in human understanding becomes the million dollar question. Still, there could be a solution, not as straightforward as the problem, but sufficient to demonstrate how goals can emerge from a goalless nature. With the conatus theory as the basis, this paper is going to review how it can be the building block of the nowadays negative feedback loop model and such a model is also a variation of Hume theory of association and passion.

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This dissertation examines the motor racing sport of Formula One, the highest level of international racing for single-seater formula racing cars and whether the lack of meritocracy and the existence of anomie in Formula One is creating a culture industry where capitalism is permeating culture and replicating set formats which result in the standardization of culture. The project draws on analyses of secondary resources and accounts of drivers, team principals, and sports journalists, as well as an in-depth exploration of the ideas of meritocracy, anomie, and the culture industry through academic writings. This analyzes how F1 became a culture industry through the push of lack of meritocracy and the existence of anomie.

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This work discusses Maimonides’s and Lao Tzu’s understanding of God/Tao. Maimonides is a leading figure in Jewish philosophy that takes a rather different analytical approach to the Torah from his predecessors. Instead of directly taking Torah and related religious books as guidance, Maimonides believes the right way to interpret Torah is to treat the stories in Torah as metaphors and use wisdom given by God to dig out the meaning behind the metaphor. Differently, Lao Tzu does not belong to any religion, while Lao Tzu found his only philosophy of how to live a better life by avoiding possible harm. After Lao Tzu’s analysis of the change of the matter and the observation of the relationships between matters… Lao Tzu has written his famous work – Tao Te Qing. In this book, he tries to teach people the philosophy of Tao to make them live better. By comparing Maimonides and Lao Tzu, I find that there are many similarities between Lao Tzu and Maimonides’s understanding of the transcendent being despite their rather different backgrounds. This essay will focus on three areas: their theories on the creation of the creatures and the inexpressible feature of God/ Tao, and the emotionless nature of God/ Tao.

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In this work, this essay discusses how the exotic gems from the Silk Road influenced the society in different ways In the Tang Dynasty. These effects can be positive or negative. Moreover, these effects may be direct or indirect. This article included the influence of exotic gems from social life, government departments and ideological events in the Tang Dynasty through three main sections. A large number of real historical records and poems are added as strong evidence. Of course, it also refers to the analytical materials of previous seniors, in order to learn from them and fill in Buddhist records to make my argument more convincing. Finally, draw the conclusion. The purpose of this article is to enable readers to judge the influence of exotic gems more clearly and comprehensively, not only through official historical materials, but also through Buddhist records.

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The Sogdian traders were arguably the most important traders along the Silk Road from the 4th century to the 8th century. Their sphere of influence expands across Eurasia, and their trading partners include China and the Roman Empire. This paper will argue that there are some distinct reasons behind their success as merchants who built a massive political-economic system along the Silk Road. In this paper, the research will base on the famous Sogdian Ancient Letters, other archeological findings, and secondary literature by historians like Di Cosmo and De la Vaissière and investigate the causes of Sogdian merchants’ success in building a transcontinental commerce system. Furthermore, this paper will specifically explain how Sogdian merchants rose to prominence in cities such as Dunhuang and Turpan and gained commercial success in China, one of its greatest trading partners.

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The Marian reformation was a monumental event in the history of the late Roman Republic. It fundamentally changed the military system in the Roman Republic and facilitated the decline of the Republic in the first century BC. This paper will discuss the causes and process of the Marian reforms and examine the means by which the Marian reforms contributed to Rome’s transition from an aristocratic republic to a military autocracy. It will argue that although the Marian reforms initially intended to improve Rome’s military prowess—by enhancing the army’s efficiency and preparing it for wars against its enemies—the reforms had long-lasting effects on the loyalty, motivations, and social status of soldiers. The reforms made it possible for Roman commanders to use their army for personal political ambitions and led to the emergence of private warlords who led Rome into repeated civil wars.

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The question of whether the perceived world is a mere illusion has been a key area of interest to both essentialism and existentialism. Plato, the essentialist, argues that there is an objective reality transcendent to that which we perceive. Lacan, similarly, proposed that there exists a totality of reality in the human psyche, open to neo-natal children who have not yet entered the external world through language. In this paper, I argue that Lacan had taken a different route to Plato via his portrayal of the Real, that is, the original state of the world before it is rendered inaccessible by the ego’s entrance into the perceived reality, or the Mirror World. Elusive of being formulated by the signs of the perceived reality, or the Imaginary-Symbolic order, it is but a nothingness without concrete being. What exists is what is accepted as a part of the linguistic and epistemological conventions of the external world, and the perceived reality a mere Mirror Reflection of the psychic and social symbols and is thus illusory. The Ego, likewise, is argued to be contingent and imaginary, born out of its misidentification with one’s mirror image that one sees in the external world.

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With the development of society and internet, more and more people from different age group tends to pursue fashion trend, and the publishing of clunky sneaker totally satisfies people’s demands and becoming one of the most popular, famous fashion item. For the fashion industry, this represents not only the aesthetic standards of the times, but also the immense influence of the internet, while insinuating the pros and cons of brand values and the many issues that extend from this. This paper takes Clunky Sneaker as the research object, and explores the development history of Clunky Sneaker and the reasons for its revival, including its aesthetic characteristics. Through the results of the research, it’s find that the reasons for the revival of Clunky Sneaker include its fashion and media promotion, and its aesthetic has unique characteristics and needs to continue to innovate. Also, the author have discovered the relationship between aesthetic standard of The Times and clunky sneaker, also the underlying value which haven’t been directly shown by the helm of the fashion industry. To be more objective, there are also some extended thoughts on the prevalence of fake goods and the psychology of flaunting wealth.

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Vintage clothing is still popular today, and exploring its development history, as well as the fashion elements and buying channels can provide a certain value for those who still love Vintage. In this paper, through the literature reading method, this thesis examines why vintage clothing is still popular in three sections: historical perspective, popular elements, and purchasing channels. The first paragraph provides a short introduction to vintage, a definition of vintage, the market for vintage and a short analysis of consumer psychology. By introducing the social significance of clothing in different periods of time, the paper will show the charm of vintage fashion to the public. The third part will analyze and explain the popular elements of Chinese and Western vintage culture and introduce the purchase channels of today's vintage clothing and a slight analysis of consumer psychology. Through the research results, it is find that the popular elements of vintage clothing includes clothing style and decorative style. The purchase channels of vintage clothing includes in-store and online shopping such as second-hand deals and more. This study hopes to provide some contributions to scholars who study this field in the future.

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With the continuous development of KPOP culture, the influence of fans has gradually been valued by everyone. Since many KPOP fans are students or young people, the change in the values of fans and the public due to KPOP culture has become one of the hot topics in today's society. This paper takes KPOP culture and its influence on fans as the research object, examines the reasons and ways that the public include fans are affected under the influence of KPOP culture, and why KPOP culture is so successful. At the end of the article, it proposes how to correctly guide fans' values, and through the research, the result finds that KPOP culture has a positive impact on fans, which has increased one's interests and hobbies, made many new friends, and diversified the public's aesthetic. The negative effect is that some fans are addicted to chasing stars and ignore their real life. The international success of KPOP culture is due to the following reasons: first, the government's support; Second, the unique characteristics of KPOP culture; Three, KPOP music is different. The revelation that the development of KPOP culture brings to the world is that it can promote its own local culture in multiple ways. The measures to influence fans' correct star-chasing are as follows: first, take a correct view of fan culture; Second, guide fans through the Internet. Through the research, the author hopes to make relevant contributions to future scholars.

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