默顿命题中的科学编史学问题

The Historiography of Science Problems in Merton Thesis

默顿命题探讨了近代科学兴起的外在影响因素,引领了科学编史学中的科学外史研究范式。自20世纪60年代,霍尔最早针对默顿的科学编史学视角进行了尖锐批评。霍尔基于其科学观念论或其内史论立场,批评了默顿关于清教伦理与科学以及经济、军事与科学关系的研究,进而批评外史论传统,否认科学的外部解释能真正地理解科学。而后,库恩、亚伯拉罕、夏平等人分别从不同视角为默顿命题进行辩护,加深了对其中内外史之争的理解,同时也扩展了新的研究内容与方向,即“科学革命”问题的编史学纲领。

The Merton thesis probes into the influence of external factors on the rise of modern science,leading the paradigm of external history of science in the historiography of science.Since the 1960s,Hall has made a sharp criticism against the angle of view of Merton's historiography.Based on his standpoint of history of scientific ideas or internal history of science,Hall criticizes not only Merton's study of relationship between Puritan ethnics and science,but also that between economy-military and science.And then he criticizes the whole external history of science of Merton,denies that external explanations can genuinely understand science.Later on,Kuhn,Abraham and Shapin have made their defenses for the Merton thesis from different angles,which finally deepens our understanding of problems of historiography of science in Merton's study,as well as broadens certain new research contents and directions.