The Epistemic Modality In Revolutions Of Science

Science is the knower’s cognitive activity, which requires us to seize the cognitive factor to analyze the causation of scientific revolution. Only from the perspective of the cognitive person, we may give a thorough answer to this question. Kant had regarded the scientific revolution as the one of the modes of thinking. So Kant had seized the cognition of the knower. After Kant philosophers or historians of science researched the change of scientific concepts and scientific methods. Their analyses provide us with a wealth of material. However, the cognitive factors have been neglected. So, it is necessary to research again the knowers’cognition in the scientific revolution. So, this research puts forward this question "how do scientific revolutionaries go beyond epistemic possibility into the epistemic necessity?" Epistemic possibility and epistemic necessity is a subject’s attitude to a theory or proposition. Concerning epistemic possibility, subject S can’t rule out a theory P and cannot rule out the contradiction theory of the P. Concerning epistemic necessity, the subject S can rule out--P. Kuhn in the structure of scientific revolutions gives the scientific development model. From here, we can see that the scientific revolution makes the replacement of the old routine science with the new one. To play a paradigm role is some scientific achievement, and these scientific achievements is embodied as scientific theory. For scientists, at the time of the conventional science the propositions inconsistent with a paradigm are not established. Based on this, we say that conventional scientists are in the state of epistemic necessity. In the state, scientists cannot find the new phenomenon. To find a new phenomenon relies on epistemic modality’s change. In the state of epistemic possibility, the new phenomenon is found, it result in the crisis of science. In a state of epistemic possibility, however, scientists cannot determine P, and cannot determine -P. It is in a state of the epistemic possibility that the ancient Greek skeptics are to reject to judge However, the scientists have established the new epistemic necessity a new theory or method, why? This is why Ⅰ am putting forward the question? In order to answer this question, Ⅰ will analyze the Descartes’ argument. At first, like the ancient Greek skeptics Descartes doubt everything. From this we can see that his theory includes the state of epistemic possibility. Descartes did not reject to judge, however, like the ancient Greek skeptics, but to set up his own theory of truth. Through the analysis of Descartes’argument, we find that the Cartesian belief based on god’s faith plays a critical role in the process of building of the doctrine of the truth. This gives us to prompt a direction: to research the relation of scientific revolutionary new theories or methods, namely new epistemic necessity and scientists’ beliefs based on the faith in god. Like Descartes, in the process of the scientific revolutionary scientists’ beliefs based on the faith in god play an extremely important role.