TL;DR
This philosophical volume explores the nature of physical laws, their connection to fundamental philosophical issues, and examines their key characteristics like simplicity, exactness, and objectivity.
Contribution
It offers a philosophical analysis of laws of physics, linking them to central philosophical concepts and discussing their fundamental qualities.
Findings
Laws are fundamental facts constraining physical possibilities
Simplicity, exactness, and objectivity are key hallmarks of laws
Laws relate to core philosophical issues like ontology and causality
Abstract
Despite its apparent complexity, our world seems to be governed by simple laws of physics. This volume provides a philosophical introduction to such laws. I explain how they are connected to some of the central issues in philosophy, such as ontology, possibility, explanation, induction, counterfactuals, time, determinism, and fundamentality. I suggest that laws are fundamental facts that govern the world by constraining its physical possibilities. I examine three hallmarks of laws--simplicity, exactness, and objectivity--and discuss whether and how they may be associated with laws of physics.
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Taxonomy
TopicsPhilosophy and Theoretical Science · Classical Philosophy and Thought