表征危机与建构主义思潮的兴起——从对“科学大战”的反思谈起

20世纪末的科学大战是科学卫士与建构主义者围绕"科学知识究竟是自然实在的客观表征还是社会建构的产物"这一论点而对科学知识的合法性基础展开的论战。前者以"表征"为核心,坚持自然实在论与真理符合论,强调科学的表征本性促进了人类福利的无限增长。但随着科学践履其"为人类谋福祉"价值的频频失败,以及科学、技术与社会之间关系的日益复杂化,标准科学意象开始面临表征危机。社会建构论的兴起直接颠覆了科学表征的客观性,认为真实的科学是社会建构的结果。社会建构论者以一种较为激进的眼光重新审视了科学,发现了科学表征的社会性,以"建构"取代"表征",为敏锐地洞察理解科学提供了颇为有益的启发,在学术界掀起了一股声势浩大的建构主义思潮,但其蕴含的相对主义观念使其容易堕入自反性僵局,而后SSK的实践转向则为建构主义思潮的稳健发展指明了一条可行的道路。

The crisis of representation and the rise of constructivism

The wars on science at the end of the 20th century were heated debates about the validity of science between scientists and constructionists.While the former insisted that science was an objective representation of nature which had promoted the growth of human well-being,the latter claimed that science was the product of social construction.With its failure to fulfill the promise of "serving the people" and the increasing complication in relation to science,technology and society,science began to face the crisis of representation.Those who were later called social constructionists found the social nature of representation and substituted construction for representation,thus starting a campaign for constructivism.Though the relativism inherent in constructivism resulted in the dilemma of reflexivity,the shift of the post-SSK schools have facilitated its sound development.