按：报告的通知通知倒是发下去了，但是在发通知和邀请过程中我提到了各种滋味，也在此回忆一下，也就是希望大家能够了解在中国要想干成件事，光有愿望和热情是远远不够的。

情景十九、求田问舍，怕应羞见……

首先要落实英国学术院是否能提名弗洛里迪访华，然后就是要给哲学所打“关于邀请国际著名学者弗罗里迪访华的报告”先从给所里的报告说起。

尊敬的所领导：

旅英意大利学者卢西亚诺•弗洛里迪（Luciano Floridi）是信息哲学（Philosophy of Information，简称PI）在国际上的积极倡导者和创始人。他的论文：“什么是信息哲学”、“信息哲学的若干问题”以及他所主编的著作《计算与信息哲学导论》已经被我们译成中文，即将由北京商务印书馆出版。信息哲学作为我室未来的主要发展方向之一已经确立，并写入“十一五规划”。我室希望了解到信息哲学在国际上的最新研究成果及发展动态，特邀请弗洛里迪教授访华。弗洛里迪教授已向英国学术院（British Academy）递交了申请，英国学术院很快就把他作为今年与我院协议交流的提名人之一。英国学术院将直接与中国社会科学院国际合作局欧洲处联系。

此前我们咨询过院国际合作局欧洲处，被告知弗洛里迪来华后的一切业务安排他们将不再负责，而是下放到所里。欧洲处只按协议划拨所规定的费用，即每日180元的生活费、四星级旅馆以及本地的旅行费用。我室初步与弗洛里迪商定请他今年9月21-30在中国访问，在北京的时间为9月21-27日，在西安的时间为28-30日。然后从西安离开中国。

请所领导给予支持为盼。

                                              科技室
                                             2008-4-23

这就是我给所里写的邀请报告，而所里见英国学术院已经同意，自然也就乐见其成，没有多久便批准了。但真正与社科院外事局的各种联络都是我亲自跑所里同意了就万事大吉了，对于我而言。

然而给英国学术院的推荐信却不能这样写，请注意这两份东西的时间，我是先给英国学术院写的推荐弗洛里迪访华，以落实对方的情况，然后才给所里写报告的，否则英国学术院不批也是白搭。看看我是怎么给英国学术院怎么写的吧：

January 10, 2008

The British Academy

Professor Luciano Floridi, the editor of the Philosophy of the Computing and Information, asks me, the coordinator of the Chinese version of this book, to write a recommendation letter in order to get the funding of the BA/CASS agreement. This book is to be published by Commercial Press, the oldest and the most famous academic publishing house in China in this September. So we hope Professor Luciano could come to join the its inaugural issuing. The publication of this book is the one of marks of the birth the discipline of the philosophy of information in China. As the coordinator of this book, I had motivated some more than 30 philosophers, young and old, to finish the translation, so that I could imagine what Professor Luciano had been tortured in his way of get so many different kinds of philosophers together.

As the Director Faculty of Science and Technology, CASS Institute of Philosophy, philosophy of information had been confirmed as one of the main fields of research, and it is written into our  faculty’s “Eleventh Five-Year Development Program” (2006-2010). In 2001 when Professor Luciano’s ariticle What is Philosophy of Information is under publication, it is rendered by me into Chinese and published in World Philosophy in 2002. And two years later, his Some Open Problems of the Philosophy of Information was also rendered into Chinese. Later on one of my colleagues was sent as a visiting scholar to IEG (Information Ethic Group) at Oxford University for one year.

Last year we have had an information culture forum in collaboration with several academic institutions in Beijing, however, the scholars are only from one city. And the topics are also a little repeated and old. Beijing is the capital of China, the largest capital of the developing country, I think if the British Academy is generous enough to give Professor Luciano a short visit of funding to China, it would be inevitably promote the development of the philosophy of information in China. I have already arranged lectures and seminars for him, for his advocating of the philosophy of information is very popular in China, of course, there is also some people does not agree with him and hope to argue with him.

Sincerely yours,

Liu Gang

Director
Prof. (Phil) LIU Gang Ph.D
Faculty of Philosophy of Science and Technology
CASS Institute of Philosophy
No 5 Jiannei St
Beijing 100732
CHINA