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Laws and Lawmakers

Author: Marc Lange

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2009-07-09

Total Pages: 277

ISBN-13: 019974503X

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.

Readings on Laws of Nature

Author: John W. Carroll

Publisher:

Published: 2004

Total Pages: 284

ISBN-13: 9780822958529

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As a subject of inquiry, laws of nature exist in the overlap between metaphysics and the philosophy of science. Over the past three decades, this area of study has become increasingly central to the philosophy of science. It also has relevance to a variety of topics in metaphysics, philosophy of mind, philosophy of language, and epistemology. Readings on Laws of Nature is the first anthology to offer a contemporary history of the problem of laws. The book is organized around three key issues: the matter of distinguishing laws from mere correlations, questions concerning inductive reasoning and laws, and the consideration of whether there are any true laws in science. Designed for class use, the anthology covers a remarkably broad range of views and concerns, and consists exclusively of articles that have proved highly influential in the field. Readings on Laws of Nature will also serve as a valuable research and reference tool for philosophers who do not specialize in the subject, but who have occasion to examine concepts relating to the laws of nature in their own work.

Nature's Metaphysics

Author: Alexander Bird

Publisher: Oxford University Press on Demand

Published: 2007-08-09

Total Pages: 246

ISBN-13: 0199227012

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Bird, a world-leader in the field, offers an original approach to key issues in philosophy. He discusses hot topics in metaphysics and the philosophy of science.

What is a Law of Nature?

Author: D. M. Armstrong

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2016-08-26

Total Pages: 183

ISBN-13: 1316558894

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First published in 1985, D. M. Armstrong's original work on what laws of nature are has continued to be influential in the areas of metaphysics and philosophy of science. Presenting a definitive attack on the sceptical Humean view, that laws are no more than a regularity of coincidence between stances of properties, Armstrong establishes his own theory and defends it concisely and systematically against objections. Presented in a fresh twenty-first-century series livery, and including a specially commissioned preface written by Marc Lange, illuminating its continuing importance and relevance to philosophical enquiry, this influential work is available for a new generation of readers.

The Metaphysics of Laws of Nature

Author: Professor of Philosophy Walter Ott

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2022-07-07

Total Pages: 327

ISBN-13: 0192859234

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It can seem obvious that we live in a world governed by laws of nature, yet it was not until the seventeenth century that the concept of a law came to the fore. Ever since, it has been attended by controversy: what does it mean to say that Boyle's law governs the expansion of a gas, or that the planets obey the law of gravity? Laws are rules that permit calculations and predictions. What does the universe have to be like, if it is to play by them? This book sorts the most prominent answers into three families. Laws first arose in a theological context; they govern events only because God enforces them. Those wishing to reverse the order of explanation, and argue that the powers of objects fix the laws, struggled to claim for themselves the results of new science. The stand-off between these two families bred a third which rejects any kind of enforcer for the laws. On this view, laws summarize events; they do not govern anything. This book traces the fortunes of the three families, from their origins to the present day. It uses objections - and the revisions needed to answer them - to produce the best representative of each. Along the way, it tries to settle the rules of this game, the debate over laws of nature. What should we expect from an account of laws? The book aims to help readers develop their own desiderata and judge the merits of the competing positions.

Laws of Nature

Author: John W. Carroll

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 1994-02-25

Total Pages: 230

ISBN-13: 9780521433341

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John Carroll undertakes a careful philosophical examination of laws of nature, causation, and other related topics. He argues that laws of nature are not susceptible to the sort of philosophical treatment preferred by empiricists. Indeed he shows that empirically pure matters of fact need not even determine what the laws are. Similar, even stronger, conclusions are drawn about causation. Replacing the traditional view of laws and causation requiring some kind of foundational legitimacy, the author argues that these phenomena are inextricably intertwined with everything else.

Laws of Nature

Author: Walter R. Ott

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2018

Total Pages: 275

ISBN-13: 0198746776

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Twelve brand-new essays by an international team of leading philosophers examine central questions on the laws of nature, such as: what is the origin of the concept of a law of nature? How much does it owe to theology and metaphysics? And, are there exceptions to the laws of nature?

Causation and Laws of Nature

Author: Max Kistler

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2006-09-27

Total Pages: 273

ISBN-13: 1134150687

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What is a causal relation? -- Laws of nature and universal generalisations -- Applicability conditions and the concept of strict law -- Consequences -- The nomological theory of causation and causal responsibility -- Efficacious properties and the instantiation of laws -- Causal responsibility and its applications.

Laws in Nature

Author: Stephen Mumford

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2004-08-02

Total Pages: 249

ISBN-13: 1134386516

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This book outlines a major new theory of natural laws and addresses questions currently being debated by metaphysicians.

Carving Nature at Its Joints

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.