On Van Fraassen's Empirical Adequacy

Empirical adequacy focuses on the main problem of the relationship between the science theory and the world and it is also the core conception of constructive empiricism. Van Fraassen gives new solution to the problems of the aim of sciene, the nature of science theories, the relationship between the science theory and the world, and others by using this concept. Then science is endowed with an image probility. So to understand empirical adequacy clearly is the essential precondition to study constructive empiricism.Empirical adequacy is the good presentation of Van Fraassen's soft empirical position. Constructive empricism is the result of anti-realism's two traditons-empiricism and construcism, and empirical adequacy is the important measure to unify them. Based on the present situations of the philosophy of science in west and the development clues of empiricism, this paper discusses van Fraassen's empirical adequacy. It states and comments the concept of empirical adequacy.The realists hold on the correspondence theory of truth, that is, they think that the object of the science reserch is the objective existence and science theories are truth of the objective world. If a theory is true, then the science theory is successful and it can be accepted by people.The group of anti-realism includes historism, phenomenonism, operationism, pragmatism and other types. They rebut realism in many facets such as science's aim, science theories'structure and science's success and develop their own theries according to the clues of empiricism and constructism. Empiricism holds that the...