Laws and Lawmakers

Laws and Lawmakers PDF

Author: Marc Lange

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2009-07-09

Total Pages: 277

ISBN-13: 019974503X

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What distinguishes laws of nature from ordinary facts? What are the "lawmakers": the facts in virtue of which the laws are laws? How can laws be necessary, yet contingent? Lange provocatively argues that laws are distinguished by their necessity, which is grounded in primitive subjunctive facts, while also providing a non-technical and accessible survey of the field.

Theoretical Philosophy after 1781

Theoretical Philosophy after 1781 PDF

Author: Immanuel Kant

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2002-05-20

Total Pages: 546

ISBN-13: 1139433091

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This volume, originally published in 2002, assembles the historical sequence of writings that Kant published between 1783 and 1796 to popularize, summarize, amplify and defend the doctrines of his masterpiece, the Critique of Pure Reason of 1781. The best known of them, the Prolegomena, is often recommended to beginning students, but the other texts are also vintage Kant and are important sources for a fully rounded picture of Kant's intellectual development. As with other volumes in the series there are copious linguistic notes and a glossary of key terms. The editorial introductions and explanatory notes shed light on the critical reception accorded Kant by the metaphysicians of his day and on Kant's own efforts to derail his opponents.

Kant's Construction of Nature

Kant's Construction of Nature PDF

Author: Michael Friedman

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2013-01-17

Total Pages: 645

ISBN-13: 0521198399

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This book develops a new reading of the Metaphysical Foundations and articulates an original perspective of Kant's critical philosophy as a whole.

Metaphysical Foundations of Natural Science

Metaphysical Foundations of Natural Science PDF

Author: Immanuel Kant

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2004

Total Pages: 164

ISBN-13: 9780521544757

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Preface 1. Metaphysical foundations of phoronomy 2. Metaphysical foundations of dynamics 3. Metaphysical foundations of mechanics 4. Metaphysical foundations of phenomenology.

Beyond Matter

Beyond Matter PDF

Author: Roger Trigg

Publisher: Templeton Foundation Press

Published: 2015-11-09

Total Pages: 177

ISBN-13: 1599474964

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Does science have all the answers? Can it even deal with abstract reasoning beyond the world we experience? How can we ensure that the physical world is sufficiently ordered to be intelligible to humans? How can mathematics, a product of human minds, unlock the secrets of the physical universe? Should all such questions be considered inadmissible if science cannot settle them? Metaphysics has traditionally been understood as reasoning beyond the reach of science, sometimes even claiming realities beyond its grasp. Because of this, metaphysics is often contemptuously dismissed by scientists and philosophers who wish to remain within the bounds of what can be scientifically proven. Yet scientists at the frontiers of physics unwittingly engage in metaphysics, as they are now happy to contemplate whole universes that are, in principle, beyond human reach. Roger Trigg challenges those who deny that science needs philosophical assumptions. Trigg claims that the foundations of science themselves have to lie beyond science. It takes reasoning apart from experience to discover what is not yet known and this metaphysical reasoning to imagine realities beyond what can be accessed. “In Beyond Matter, Roger Trigg advances a powerful, persuasive, fair-minded argument that the sciences require a philosophical, metaphysical foundation. This is a brilliant book for newcomers to the philosophy of science and experts alike.” —Charles Taliaferro, professor of philosophy, St. Olaf College

Carving Nature at Its Joints

Carving Nature at Its Joints PDF

Author: Joseph Keim Campbell

Publisher: MIT Press

Published: 2011-10-28

Total Pages: 367

ISBN-13: 0262297906

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Reflections on the metaphysics and epistemology of classification from a distinguished group of philosophers. Contemporary discussions of the success of science often invoke an ancient metaphor from Plato's Phaedrus: successful theories should "carve nature at its joints." But is nature really "jointed"? Are there natural kinds of things around which our theories cut? The essays in this volume offer reflections by a distinguished group of philosophers on a series of intertwined issues in the metaphysics and epistemology of classification. The contributors consider such topics as the relevance of natural kinds in inductive inference; the role of natural kinds in natural laws; the nature of fundamental properties; the naturalness of boundaries; the metaphysics and epistemology of biological kinds; and the relevance of biological kinds to certain questions in ethics. Carving Nature at Its Joints offers both breadth and thematic unity, providing a sampling of state-of-the-art work in contemporary analytic philosophy that will be of interest to a wide audience of scholars and students concerned with classification.