The Methodology Of Lakatos' Scientific Research Program And Its Contemporary Significance

Lakatos' methodology of scientific research program has an important influence on the history of western philosophy of science.It sublates Popper's critical rationalism and Kuhn's Historicism and represents a new stage of the development of western philosophy of science.The methodology of scientific research program is based on the concept of "scientific research program".Lakatos points out that scientific research program is the basic sequence of scientific evolution and has its basic structure.On this basis,Lakatos further expounds the evaluation standards of scientific theory,scientific development model,scientific methodology and other issues.The methodology of Lakatos' scientific research program still has an important enlightening role in guiding contemporary scientific research activities and scientific theory innovation.For example,in the current field of artificial intelligence research,there are schools of thought such as symbolism and connectionism.Therefore,it is worth trying to study these two schools from the perspective of Lakatos' scientific research program methodology.On the one hand,it provides possible inspiration for the theoretical research and innovation in the field of artificial intelligence.On the other hand,Lakatos' methodology of scientific research program can be tested to find its advantages and disadvantages.Scientific research program is an organic whole of dynamic development,which consists of hard core,protective belt,positive and negative revelation.The four elements of scientific research program play their respective roles in scientific research activities and evolution.The hard core consists of the most basic hypothesis;the protective belt consists of some auxiliary hypotheses;as an enlightening method,on the one hand,the enlightening law guides scientists to create auxiliary hypotheses and establish protective belts to protect the hard core from theoretical attacks;on the other hand,as a ban,the negative enlightening law guides scientists to do nothing.There is a certain tension between the four elements of scientific research program,which makes scientific research program not only a single theory,but a theoretical series.On this basis,Lakatos distinguishes the progressive research program from the regressive research program.The progressive research program can make more testable inferences in theory,which can be confirmed by observation experiments in experience.The regressive research program theory lags behind the empirical facts,and has only explanatory power but no predictive power to the facts.In the aspect of artificial intelligence theoretical research,the inspiration ofLakatos' scientific research program methodology is: firstly,taking Lakatos' scientific research program as the starting point,we investigate two major schools in the field of artificial intelligence theoretical research: Symbolism and connectionism,from which we get the research program of symbolism and connectionism.Secondly,it analyzes the structure of semiotic research program and connectionist research program,and reveals their hard core,protective belt,positive and negative enlightenment respectively.Thirdly,according to Lakatos' definition of the characteristics of progressive research program and retrogressive research program,the paper further analyzes the progressiveness or retrogression of symbolism and connectionism research program.Through the preliminary analysis,the semiotic research program faces many difficulties,such as the philosophical position and methods of reductionism,which have great limitations in dealing with non-linear problems;correspondingly,the connectionist research program holds the philosophical position and methods of holism and can deal with non-linear problems.Finally,in the current research of artificial intelligence theory with the coexistence of symbolism and connectionism,the theoretical research of artificial intelligence is facing difficulties.Where is the breakthrough point of the theoretical research of artificial intelligence? Is connectionism replacing symbolism as a progressive research program? Or will new research programs emerge? What kind of relationship will new research programs have with symbolism and connectionism? Can lacatos' s methodology of scientific research program give a clear answer to these questions? In this paper,combined with the research on the methodology of Lakatos' scientific research program,we try to give the answer that the combination of connectionism and symbolism produces a new research program.It is reasonable to believe that the contemporary significance of Lakatos' methodology of scientific research program is not only reflected in the field of natural science and technological science,but also provides methodological enlightenment for social science and human science.Of course,the methodology of scientific research program itself also needs to be constantly developed in the process of contemporary application.