本质主义、反本质主义与中国教育学研究

Essentialism, Anti-essential ism and Pedagogic Study in China

本质主义是一种信仰本质存在并致力于本质追求与表述的知识观和认识论路线,是近代以来西方许多哲学流派,包括那些相互冲突的哲学流派共同信奉的知识观和认识论路线。本质主义对20世纪中国教育学研究的影响有一个由小到大、由点到面、由弱到强的历史过程,逐渐在中国教育学术界占据支配地位。反本质主义是后现代主义的一个重要组成部分,反本质主义对本质主义的批判集中在实体信仰、本质信念或假定、符合论的语言观以及本质主义的目的假设及其引起的学术与政治的后果上。从反本质主义角度看,本质主义在为中国教育学术研究带来表面的生机和活力的同时,也带来了严重的历史性后果。21世纪的中国教育学研究必须深刻地批判和彻底地抛弃本质主义,树立新的反本质主义的知识观,走上新的反本质主义的认识论之路。

Essentialism is a kind of intellectual and epistemological route which believes in the existance of essence and pursues the expression of essence. Actually, it is a hodgepodge of various contemporary Western philosophical schools including those contradictory epistemologies. In the 20th century, essentialism began to influence the pedagogic study in China and gradually occupied a dominant position in the circle of educational science in China. As an important component of postmodernism, anti-essentialism holds a critical attitude toward essentialism, which is focused on substantive belief, essential faith or hypothesis, linguistic theory of coincidence, objective hypothesis of essenlialism and its academic and political consequences. According to anti-essentialism, essentialism has caused serious historical outcome despite the superficial prosperity and vitality of educational science in China. In the 21st century, essentialism must be thoroughly criticized and abandoned and a new outlook of anti-essentialism must be established in the field of education science in China.