描述论与建构论的张力——论库恩科学哲学研究立场的格式塔转换

The Tension Between Descriptivism and Constructivism: On the Gestalt Transformation of Kuhn’s Research Position on Philosophy of Science

前期库恩在充分尊重科学史实的基础上创造了一种纯粹的描述论,描绘了科学发展的整体图景,揭示了科学发展的规律。然而,科学主义建构论者并不接受库恩的纯粹描述论,他们认为建构论才是哲学文化真正的价值取向,才是哲学发展的正道。这样的非难迫使库恩在后期转向建构论,但它仅有先验主义建构论之表,因为库恩只是把前期创造的一系列用于揭示科学发展规律的工具性术语诸如“范式”“常规科学”“不可通约性”等重新排列,把“范式”——后期用“专业词汇”加以替换——提升至理论建构本原的地位,等等,但实质上这些术语是库恩描述科学家理论的产物,它们的思想或内容之源在科学家而不在库恩,尤其是库恩的建构论似乎是对科学家建构论的一种描述。因此库恩后期向建构论的转向是失败的。尽管如此,库恩的描述论具有毋庸置疑的价值,比如,它揭示了科学发展的客观规律,有助于揭示科学理论或科学真理以及科学论争的实质,等等。因此,库恩的纯粹描述论理应拥有自己的张力空间,即使建构论属于哲学文化的主流。

In the early stage,Kuhn creates a pure descriptive theory on the basis of fully respecting the historical facts of science in order to reveal the law of scientific development and describe the overall picture of scientific development.However,scientism constructivists do not accept Kuhn’s pure descriptive theory,and they believe that constructivism is the true value orientation of philosophical culture and the right way for the development of philosophy.As a result of these criticisms,Kuhn had to convert to constructivism in later stages.However,Kuhn’s constructivism is,in fact,nothing more than a priori constructivism,because he only rearranges a series of instrumental terms created in the early stage to reveal the laws of scientific development,such as “paradigm”,“normal science” “incommensurability”,and treats “paradigm”,which is replaced by “lexicon” in the later stage,as the arche of theoretical construction.Actually,these terms are essentially the product of Kuhn’s description of scientist theory,because its source of thought or content lies in scientists and not in Kuhn,especially because Kuhn’s constructionism seems to be a description of scientist constructionism.Therefore,Kuhn’s transition to constructivism in the later stage is a failure.Nonetheless,Kuhn’s descriptive theory has an unquestionable value.For example,it reveals the objective law of scientific development,and helps to reveal the essence of scientific theory or scientific truth and scientific controversy,etc.In summary,Kuhn’s pure descriptive theory should have its own space of tension,even if constructivism belongs to the mainstream of philosophical culture.