论机制解释在社会学中的地位及其局限

On the Importance and Limitations of Mechanism based Explanation

本文分析了社会学家对机制概念常见的误解、社会机制的关键性质和基本类型,阐明了机制解释的主要弱点。这些弱点包括机制与宏观结构之间的紧张、结构/机制解释与行动者解释之间的紧张、归纳性机制分析与演绎性机制分析之间的紧张,以及机制解释不得不面对的过度决定和重要性多变两个难点。本文旨在帮助读者准确地掌握机制概念,更好地运用机制解释,最终建立起基于机制解释同时又超越机制解释的“中国学派”。

This article deals with common misunderstandings of social mechanism as a concept,discusses the basic types and characteristics of social mechanisms,and analyzes major weaknesses of mechanism based explanation in social sciences.These weaknesses include:tensions between mechanism based explanation and macro structural explanation,tensions between structure/mechanism based explanation and actor based explanation,tensions between inductive mechanism based analysis and deductive mechanism based analysis,and two hermeneutic hurdles of the mechanism based explanation,that is,over determination and changing importance of social mechanisms.This article aims to help readers to better master the mechanism concept,better execute a mechanism based explanation,and finally to foster the development of a sociological paradigm that is based on,but at the same time transcends,the mechanism based explanation.