不可通约性与科学合理性——库恩科学合理性理论研究

Incommensurability and Scientific Rationality: An Interpretation of Kuhn

逻辑实证主义和波普学派将科学合理性原则看成科学假说检验的逻辑规则,力图建立普遍的、超越历史和文化的科学合理性标准。库恩用科学史的大量材料论证,科学是在范式指导下解难题的活动,科学革命是范式的转变,不同的范式是不可通约的。在这个基础上,库恩建立了一种历史的或局部的合理性理论,揭示了科学合理性与科学共同体的活动方式的密切联系,从而实现了合理性观念的根本变革。

Logical Positivists and Popperians take the principles of scientific rationality as the rules of testing scientific hypotheses and attempt to formulate a set of criteria of scientific rationality which is universal, ahistorical and culturally independent. Based on detailed historical research, T. Kuhn suggests that science is a sort of puzzle-solving activities under the guidance of a determined paradigm, scientific revolution is paradigm shift, and different paradigms are incommensurable.In terms of those ideas, Kuhn has put forward a theory of historical and local rationality, given account for the close relationship between scientific rationality and the behavior of scientific community, and thus promoted a fundamental transformation of our concept of rationality.