On The Thoughts Of Fan Dainian’s Philosophy Of Science

In1970s and1980s, Philosophy of Science in China has entered a rapid development period after suffering a stagnation of20years. Fan Dainian started his work for translation and edition in1948.In1950s, he did some research in the field of philosophy of science. However, Mr. Fan has not continued his research until1970s for political reasons. In a manner of speaking, Mr. Fan’s research of philosophy of science presents not only his personal formation process but also Chinese philosophy of science community. Taking Mr. Fan as an example to interpret philosophy of science in China, which has started at the end of1970s and the beginning of1980s, will be conductive to comb the Chinese philosophy of science and to make reasonable judgments of further development. This paper is based on the study of the Marxist theory, combined with the background of western philosophy of science and the history of philosophy of science in China, in-depth analyzing Fan Dainian’s thoughts of philosophy of science, forming the primary coverage of the view of Fan Dainian’s philosophy of science through gathering up the general theoretical perspectives on philosophy of science, and at last grasps Mr. Fan’s view on the whole.Mr. Fan’s study mainly covers two aspects:On one hand, he reviews the problems and representatives in western philosophy of science, including his research on the problem of scientific discovery and the logical empiricism, the rectification of historical figures, the statement of western scientific philosophers. On the other hand, Mr. Fan reflects on the development of philosophy of science in China, including his introspection of needham question, his criticism of "the controversy between sciences and metaphysics" and the scientism of China, his reflection on traditional culture and modern civilization, and his advice on the development of Chinese philosophy of science. This paper aims to analyze his contribution to Chinese philosophy of science and to understand, on the basis of elaborating his perspectives on philosophy of science.In a word, Fan Dainian has played a guiding role in this field with his conduct and research. His research work has helped to spread the western philosophy of science, promote the ideological emancipation of academic community, drive the natural dialectics as a philosophical school to form and spring up, transform the research paradigm as well as enrich historical materials of domestic scientific philosophy. It is beneficial of exploring Fan Dainian’s thoughts of philosophy of science for the further development of philosophy of science in China.