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民族学的科学性——基于科学实在论的机制解释

The Scientific Nature of Ethnology —A Mechanistic Explanation Based on Scientific Realism

Progress in Social Sciences / 2025,7(5): 404-409 / 2025-05-30 21 14

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• Authors: 艾尼江
• Information:

  广东技术师范大学民族学院，广州

• Keywords:
  Scientific realism; Ethnology; Causal mechanism; Explanation; Knowledge accumulation
  科学实在论; 民族学; 因果机制; 解释; 知识累积
• Abstract: Grounded in scientific realism, ethnographic research can be defined as the theoretical modeling and empirical corroboration of objective sociocultural reality (including underlying structures and mechanisms). This paper advocates for a causal mechanism-driven research paradigm that integrates deep ethnography with diverse (comparative, quantitative, and experimental) evidence. This paradigm aims to reveal that: (1) Phenomenological descriptions must serve the discovery and testing of underlying mechanisms, forming the core of explanatory power; (2) Theoretical competition and knowledge accumulation require the evaluation of the efficacy of mechanistic explanations based on empirical evidence, thereby breaking free from the constraints of strong relativism; (3) Methodological integration (triangulation) is a crucial path to achieving reliable causal inferences concerning dynamic cultures. The transformation of ethnology into an explanatory science is, in essence, a systematic shift driven by scientific realism, moving the research focus from “understanding” to “explanation” and from “meaning” to “mechanism.” 立足于科学实在论，可以将民族学研究定义为对客观社会文化实在（含潜在结构与机制）的理论建模与经验确证。笔者倡导一种整合深度民族志与多元（比较、量化、实验）证据的因果机制驱动型研究范式，旨在揭示：（1）现象描述须服务于潜在机制的发掘与检验，构成解释力的核心；（2）理论竞争与知识累积需依据经验证据对机制解释的效力进行评估，摆脱强相对主义束缚；（3）方法论的整合（三角互证）是实现对动态文化进行可靠因果推断的关键路径。民族学向解释科学的转型，本质上是科学实在论的驱动下，研究重心从“理解”向“解释”、从“意义”向“机制”的系统性转移。
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.35534/pss.0705070
• Cite: 艾尼江．民族学的科学性——基于科学实在论的机制解释［J］．社会科学进展，2025，7（5）：404-409.