"Whether being able to attend the conference is a small matter; it’s the reputation of my alma mater and ntors that’s important!"
Professor Zhou opened his mouth, but suddenly didn’t know what to say.
Forget it, he was too lazy to say more; it really wasn’t a big deal.
If the visa were truly denied, he could contact the conference committee to explain the situation and try to find a solution. Worst case, since France is one of the Schengen countries, it’s just a matter of changing flights...
After all, Qiao Yu’s ntors had great influence.
Most importantly, after Qiao Yu’s explanation, Professor Zhou also felt that the question was a bit over the line. Moreover, it might have pressed the wrong buttons for the big shots Tian Yanzhen and Yuan Zhengxin. Anyway, he reported the situation truthfully, and even if the big shots didn’t say it out loud, they were probably satisfied.
On the way back, Professor Zhou’s biggest feeling was that young people these days were really impressive.
...
Just as Old Zhou imagined, when reporting this matter over the phone to Tian Yan, Tian Yan simply said lightly, "Haha, this kid’s temper is quite sothing. It’s fine, the visa should get approved. If it really doesn’t, I’ll inquire further."
And then there was no more follow-up.
However, on the third day, Professor Zhou received a call informing him that Qiao Yu’s visa had been approved.
He made a special trip to pick up Qiao Yu’s passport, and looking at the label indicating validity period and number of entries on Qiao Yu’s passport, Professor Zhou was filled with emotion.
He always felt that when he applied for a visa back when he studied abroad, he was a bit overly cautious with the visa officer, decidedly not at all relaxed.
Of course, back then he didn’t have such influential ntors backing him up.
But then again, Qiao Yu didn’t even need Academician Tian to intervene, and he succeeded.
It seems this kid was right in saying that respect should always be mutual.
When respect isn’t coming your way, there’s really no need to be overly polite.
...
When Qiao Yu learned that the visa had been approved, he was attending a class in the Philosophy Departnt at Yanbei University.
Glancing at WeChat, he obediently put his phone back in his pocket and continued attentively listening to the class.
This was a large class, an introduction to Eastern and Western philosophy, but apparently there weren’t many students studying philosophy, so lack of attention was easily noticed. Frankly, just the visa getting approved didn’t make Qiao Yu feel particularly excited.
Having experienced giving presentations from the podium, Qiao Yu was well aware that the instructor could easily observe every little move from the students below. It’s clear who’s listening and who’s daydreaming.
"...So, what is truth? Aristotle once said: ’Truth is to say what is that it’s, and what is not that it’s not.’ My understanding is that truth is a state consistent with reality.
For instance, when we say snow is white, its truthfulness depends on the fact that snow is generally white in reality. But could there be places where snow is a different color, even black? Certainly! For example, after a volcanic eruption, ash and snow could fall together, making snow appear black or dark gray, especially in mountain regions.
So here cos the question, is truth subjective or objective? In different cultures, does the understanding of morality and ethics alter the understanding of truth? This is the relativity of truth.
Clearly, ancient Greek philosophers didn’t see it this way. For instance, Plato’s Theory of Forms posits that truth is an eternal, unchanging idea, transcending the changes of the material world. Pay attention, students, here Plato emphasized the permanence and immutability of truth, untouched by changes in the material world.
It’s an absolute, eternal existence, so if we had a chance to discuss truth with Plato, we’d be discussing a universal principle or rule that transcends specific things and temporary changes. To help everyone better understand this concept, let tell you a story..."
The class lasted about a hundred minutes, and Qiao Yu listened with great interest.
The first half was an introduction to mainstream international views, mostly textbook content, but the latter half was where the professor freely elaborated.
Apart from figures like Kant and Nietzsche, who are well known to the public, philosophers like William Jas, Ludwig Wittgenstein, and Michel Foucault were brought up with extensive citations and examples.
The topics ranged from relativism and absolutism, pragmatism, logical philosophy, power and truth, to paradigm truths of scientific theories, and even gender and identity-based truths...
Really, it didn’t require a PPT and kept Qiao Yu engaged for over an hour. The most astonishing part was, after stating so much, by the end of the class, the professor hadn’t provided a final concept of truth.
Instead, he turned it into a howork assignnt.
The question was simple, asking students to reflect on what truth is and write an essay about it.
Hearing the astonished voices of the senior students sitting in front, Qiao Yu was quite satisfied.
This is the beauty of auditing a course.
Not only could he hear a lot of interesting knowledge, enriching his knowledge base, but he wasn’t responsible for the assignnts the professor gave out.
Just listening was enough...
Doing howork, that’s impossible.
Furthermore, it seed relatively easy to be a professor in the Philosophy Departnt. The topic of truth could be expanded into over a hundred minutes of content, yet no conclusion was given in the end. If the Mathematics Departnt approached things this way, the students would probably go mad...
After class, it was ti to eat.
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