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Books > Science & Mathematics > Science: general issues > Philosophy of science
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The Metaphysics of Laws of Nature - The Rules of the Game (Hardcover)
Loot Price: R2,518
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The Metaphysics of Laws of Nature - The Rules of the Game (Hardcover)
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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.
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