Keynote Speaker：

Chen Bo holds a PhD in Philosophy from Renmin University of China (1994). Since September 2021, he has served as a Humanities and Social Sciences Chair Professor at the School of Philosophy, Wuhan University. He was named a recipient of the Special Government Allowance of the State Council in 2023.

He was elected as a full member of the International Institute of Philosophy (IIP, Paris) in 2018, and a full member of the International Academy of the Philosophy of Science (AIPS, Brussels) in 2021. Previously, he had a long tenure as Professor, Second-Class Professor and PhD Supervisor in the Department of Philosophy at Peking University from 1999 to 2021. He also spent one year each as a visiting scholar or research collaborator at the University of Helsinki (Finland), the University of Miami (USA), the University of Oxford (UK) and Nihon University (Japan).

His research focuses on logic and analytic philosophy. He has led 5 projects funded by the National Social Science Fund of China, 4 projects from the Ministry of Education and 1 project from the Beijing Municipal Government, many of which were rated Excellent upon completion. Currently, he serves as the Chief Expert for the Major Project of the National Social Science Fund of China titled Research on Major Frontier Issues in Contemporary Philosophy of Logic.

His major publications include Dialogue, Communication and Participation: Entering the International Philosophical Community, Analytic Philosophy: Criticism and Construction, Studies in the Philosophy of Logic, Studies in Quine’s Philosophy: From the Perspective of Logic and Language, Studies in Paradoxes, Perseverance of Reason: Inquiries into Language, Meaning and Truth, Thinking with Great Philosophers, Introduction to Logic, Fifteen Lectures on Logic and What is Logic among others. He has published nearly 300 academic papers in key journals at home and abroad, including almost 30 English papers in international AHCI-indexed journals.

His academic achievements have earned him numerous prestigious awards individually, including 3 Outstanding Achievement Awards in Humanities and Social Sciences in Chinese Universities from the Ministry of Education, 5 Outstanding Achievement Awards in Philosophy and Social Sciences of Beijing and 3 Jin Yuelin Academic Awards. In terms of teaching, he has also won many individual honors such as 2 National First-Class Undergraduate Courses, the Excellent Teaching Achievement Award of Peking University, the Excellent PhD Thesis Supervisor Award of Peking University and the Excellent Textbook Award of Peking University (twice).

Main Content:

The divide and gap between “is” and “ought”, “fact” and “value” as well as “norm” proposed by Hume, Moore and others are illusory. There are no purely objective “facts”, as facts involve the subjective input of cognitive subjects; nor are there purely subjective “norms”, as norms must be grounded in objectivity and academic principles.

Why do we “must” and “ought” to do something? This is jointly determined by the following factors:

Factual dimension: Human needs, intentions and goals. Intentions and goals arise from needs, with the strength of intentions often depending on that of needs, and needs themselves having an objective basis.

Motivational dimension: The current actual situation, which often falls short of needs and goals. People strive to change the status quo and create a vision that can satisfy their needs and goals.

Epistemic dimension: Relevant broad scientific principles (including natural sciences, social sciences and humanities), as well as social consensus (such as cultural traditions and customs).

Capacity dimension: Humans’ ability for rational thinking.

All these factors connect “is” with “ought”, thus building a bridge from “facts” to “values” and “norms”.

Time：

Decemberr 12, 2025 (Friday), 16:20

Location：

Coffee Beanery

Organizer：

Advanced Institute of Humanities and Social Sciences (AI-HSS)