Laws in Physics
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 12417627 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Mathias Frisch (0000-0002-1027-3796, University of Maryland, College Park, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2014 |
| Volume | 22 |
| Issue | S1 |
| Pages | S33-S49 |
| Publication date | 2014-05-01 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | European Review (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1062-7987 • E-ISSN: 1474-0575 |
| Publisher | Cambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1017/s1062798713000768 |
| OpenAlex | W2031154156 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 2 |
| References cited | 22 |
This paper critically discusses different philosophical conceptions of laws of nature by examining how putative laws are treated in physical theorizing. These different conceptions are, first, views that take laws to be metaphysically basic; second, Humean views, which take laws to be reducible to patterns of instantiations of non-modal properties; and, third, a cluster of conventionalist or instrumentalist views that understand laws as part of the epistemic toolkit for building models and a reflection of a particular perspective of investigation. I argue that scientific practice best supports a moderate version of the third view: while the laws of physics do not form a single tightly organized axiomatic structure and there exists a multiplicity of frameworks in which putative laws are justified by their predictive use and relevance in a particular context, general overarching principles nevertheless play an important role in physics and provide some integration of different domains
Axiom · Context (archaeology · Epistemology · Instrumentalism · Metaphysics · Perspective (graphical · Physical law · Political science · Relevance (law · Sociology · Computer Science · Epistemology, Ethics, and Metaphysics · Law · Mathematics · Philosophy · Philosophy and History of Science · Philosophy and Theoretical Science · Artificial Intelligence
Inconsistency, Asymmetry, and Non-Locality
Nature's Metaphysics
Unsimple Truths
More Is Different
A better best system account of lawhood
Real Patterns
Two accounts of laws and time
The Dappled World
The Metaphysics Within Physics
Everett and structure
Mechanisms, principles, and Lorentz's cautious realism
Principle or constructive relativity
Laws and meta-laws of nature
The Structure of Scientific Revolutions
From Arbuthnot to Boltzmann
Established Theories
| Citations per year | 0.67 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2023 - 2023 (1) |
| Highly cited | No |