卡西尔论经验与理性在科学认识中的作用

On the Role of Cassirer's Experience and Rationality in the Scientific Cognition

经验与理性的关系问题是近代认识论最重要的议题之一,经验主义和理性主义围绕这一核心问题展开了激烈的讨论。康德结合自然科学本身的发展,第一次将两种思潮统一起来完成了一场"哥白尼式革命",但之后自然科学与哲学的发展再次动摇了康德的解读。卡西尔作为新康德主义者,循着康德的道路,分析了牛顿的经验归纳和莱布尼茨的理性分析方法,认为在人类的认识活动中并不存在纯粹的经验或理性。就此,他还进一步讨论了经验与理性因素在几何系统构建中的作用,在彭加勒约定论的几何观基础上,阐明经验与理性虽在科学认识中的地位并不等同,但二者对于科学知识的形成而言,都是不可或缺的。

The relation between experience and rationality is one of the most important issues in modern epistemology.Empiricism and rationalism have heated discussions on this topic.Combining with the development of natural science itself,Kant unified the two ideas together to complete a“Copernicus revolution”for the first time.But then the gradual development of natural science and philosophy had shaken the interpretation of Kant.As a Neo-Kantianism,Cassirer follows the view of Kant that there is no pure experience or ratienality in human cognition by analyzing the method of Newton and Leibniz.In this regard,he further discussed the role of experience and rational factors in the construction of geometric systems.Based on the Poincare's conventionalism,he clarify the effects of experience and rationality on scientific knowledge are not equal,but they are both indispensable for the construction of scientific knowledge.