中医学为何要现代化——中医学现代化再拷问

Why does TCM need to be modernized?—again question about modernization of TCM

中医学既不能被证实,也不能被证伪,并且可检验性和重复性较弱。作为一门有规律的知识体系,它虽不具备现代科学的典型特征,但却是科学。与现代科学特别是现代医学相比,中医学显然落后了,但这并不构成摒弃中医学的理由,相反中医学还有存在的价值,因此必须要对之进行现代化。中医学现代化是一个漫长而艰难的过程。在这一过程中,中医学必将逐步褪去其民族文化色彩,与现代科学越走越近,从而在本质上与现代科学没有不同,但无论如何它也不可能完全甩清民族文化色彩,因此必然仍被称为中医学。

This paper argues for the scientific value of traditional Chinese medicine （TCM）. As TCM can be neither verified nor negated, and its testability and repeatability are weak, TCM has no typical characteristics that modem science possesses, but it does be science with organized knowledge system. TCM has fallen behind modem science, especially modem medicine, yet we can＇t abandon it. TCM still has great value in itself, so we must modernize it. It is a long and hard way for the modernization of TCM, in the course of which TCM would step by step take off its nationally cultural characteristics and more and more approach modem science so that it has no radically difference from modem science. Even though the modernization of TCM comes true, it is impossible to get rid of its nationally cultural characteristics completely; therefore, TCM would still be called TCM.