On Bas C·Van Fraassen's View Of Observability

As an outstanding anti-realist, Bas C. Van Fraassen is famous of his modest "Constructive Empiricism" in the field of contemporary western philosophy of science. Van Fraassen attempts to solve the problems of the goal of science, the characters of scientific theories and the relation between scientific theories and the world by using the concept of "Empirically Adequacy". Through his solutions to these problems, Van Fraassen has given science a new image. We may say that the concept of "Empirically Adequacy" is the core of the "Constructive Empiricism". However, the "Empirically Adequacy" relies on the "Observability"of theories. In Van Fraassen's overall ideology, these two concepts are closely linked inseparably. "Observability" is the support and basis of the whole system of the "Constructive Empiricism", to believe what's observable from the point of "Empirically Adequacy", is the core of Van Fraassen's view of truth. Therefore, in order to understand "Constructive Empiricism", we must focus on understanding his concept of "Observability".The problem of observation and theories has always been a centre problem in the philosophy of science. The Classical Empiricists, the Logical Empiricists and the Neo-Historists have all discussed this problem, and have proposed their unique views. However, flaws inevitably exist in their theories. Van Fraassen notices the lack of previous views, and puts forward his own theory of observation based on the "Constructive Empiricism". This theory has been proposed the enormous influence in the philosophy of science.Van Fraassen insists in the principles of empiricism, and deems that scientific cognition should be confined to the empirical world. He regards the world as two parts: "observable" and "unobservable", and considers the observable world as the empirical world. Van Fraassen criticizes a series of arguments of realists based on the concept of "Observability". From the core concept "empirically adequacy", the construction of scientific theory model, the semantics of scientific theories to the rescue of phenomena, "Observability" plays an important role. However, because of its limitations, he receives many criticisms from the domestic and foreign scholars. Based on the analysis of the limitations of the concept of "Observability", this article points out that the concept of "Observability" cannot support "Empirically Adequacy" appropriately.