The Scientific Nature of Ethnology —A Mechanistic Explanation Based on Scientific Realism

Grounded in scientific realism, ethnographic research can be defined as the theoretical modeling and empirical corroboration of objective sociocultural reality (including underlying structures and mechanisms). This paper advocates for a causal mechanism-driven research paradigm that integrates deep ethnography with diverse (comparative, quantitative, and experimental) evidence. This paradigm aims to reveal that: (1) Phenomenological descriptions must serve the discovery and testing of underlying mechanisms, forming the core of explanatory power; (2) Theoretical competition and knowledge accumulation require the evaluation of the efficacy of mechanistic explanations based on empirical evidence, thereby breaking free from the constraints of strong relativism; (3) Methodological integration (triangulation) is a crucial path to achieving reliable causal inferences concerning dynamic cultures. The transformation of ethnology into an explanatory science is, in essence, a systematic shift driven by scientific realism, moving the research focus from “understanding” to “explanation” and from “meaning” to “mechanism.”