摘要
社会科学的核心任务就是解释。在为现实生活中的某种行为、现象或事件寻求解释时,我们可能并不满足于"X导致了Y"这样的说法,好奇心会驱使我们继续追问:"X是如何导致Y的?"一旦提出了这个问题,实际上就已经开始了探寻机制的过程。回顾科学解释从覆盖律到因果机制的发展过程,梳理了因果机制的几种代表性定义,并试着通过两组二元对立——实在论与反实在论、决定论与非决定论——来把握这些不同定义背后的哲学倾向。最后得出结论,社会科学之所以要找因果机制,不外乎以下两种原因:探究因果机制,有利于降低层次、缩短时滞,挖掘出原因和结果之间的过程和环节,从而打开黑箱、增强解释力;与覆盖律或因果效应相比,因果机制更加强调能动的作用,更加适用于充满能动者的社会科学领域,并为我们分析和研究能动性因素提供一种途径。
The central task of social science is to explain.When seeking explanations to certain actions,phenomena,or events,we may not be satisfied with the conclusion that it is X that leads to Y.Our curiosity will drive us to further explore how X leads to Y.In fact,on raising this question,we are to explore causal mechanisms.This paper reviews the development of scientific explanation,from covering law models to causal mechanisms,summarizes typical definitions of causal mechanisms,and attempts to capture the underlying orientations of them with two pairs of philosophical conceptions-realism versus antirealism,determinism versus indeterminism.Then we conclude that there are two reasons for us to explore causal mechanisms:on the one hand,with causal mechanisms,we can lower the level of analysis,shorten the time lag,dig out the processes and connections between cause and effect,and thus open the black box and increase the explanatory power;on the other hand,compared with covering law models or causations based on causal effects,causations based on causal mechanisms place more emphasis on agency,better apply to the social world full of agents and can provide an approach for us to analyze and study agent factors.At the end,we briefly introduce the operational method with which we dig for causal mechanisms,that is,process tracing in case studies.
出处
《公共行政评论》
2011年第4期50-84,179,共35页
Journal of Public Administration
基金
南开大学中央高校基本科研业务费专项资金(NKZXB10151)
关键词
因果机制
能动性
过程追踪
Causal Mechanism
Agency
Process Tracing
