Causation and Laws of Nature in Early Modern Philosophy (Hardcover, New)

Some philosophers think physical explanations stand on their own: what happens, happens because things have the properties they do. Others think that any such explanation is incomplete: what happens in the physical world must be partly due to the laws of nature. Causation and Laws of Nature inEarly Modern Philosophy examines the debate between these views from Descartes to Hume.
Ott argues that the competing models of causation in the period grow out of the scholastic notion of power. On this Aristotelian view, the connection between cause and effect is logically necessary. Causes are 'intrinsically directed' at what they produce. But when the Aristotelian view is faced with the challenge of mechanism, the core notion of a power splits into two distinct models, each of which persists throughout the early modern period. It is only when seen in this light that the key arguments of the period can reveal their true virtues and flaws.
To make his case, Ott explores such central topics as intentionality, the varieties of necessity, and the nature of relations. Arguing for controversial readings of many of the canonical figures, the book also focuses on lesser-known writers such as Pierre-Sylvain Regis, Nicolas Malebranche, and Robert Boyle.

General

Imprint:	Oxford UniversityPress
Country of origin:	United Kingdom
Release date:	September 2009
First published:	November 2009
Authors:	Walter Ott
Dimensions:	241 x 162 x 22mm (L x W x T)
Format:	Hardcover
Pages:	274
Edition:	New
ISBN-13:	978-0-19-957043-0
Categories:	Books > Science & Mathematics > Science: general issues > Philosophy of science Books > Humanities > Philosophy > Topics in philosophy > Epistemology, theory of knowledge Books > Humanities > Philosophy > Western philosophy > Modern Western philosophy, c 1600 to the present > General Books > Philosophy > Topics in philosophy > Epistemology, theory of knowledge Books > Philosophy > Western philosophy > Modern Western philosophy, c 1600 to the present > General Promotions
LSN:	0-19-957043-4
Barcode:	9780199570430

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