What is a Law of Nature?

183 Pages·2016·0.81 MB·English

by  D. M. Armstrong

What is a Law of Nature?
CAMBRIDGE PHILOSOPHY CLASSICS
Generaleditorsydney shoemaker
Advisoryeditorsj.e.j.altham,simonblackburn,gilbertharman,martin
hollis, frank jackson, jonathan lear, william g. lycan, john perry,
barry stroud
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What is a Law of Nature?
B
d. m. armstrong
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Names:Armstrong,D.M.(DavidMalet),1926-2014,author.
Title:Whatisalawofnature?/D.M.Armstrong.
Description:CambridgePhilosophyClassicsedition.|Cambridge,United
Kingdom:CambridgeUniversityPress,[2016]|Originallypublishedin1983.|
Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex.
Identifiers:LCCN2015045198|ISBN9781107142312(Hardback:alk.paper)|
ISBN9781316507094(Paperback:alk.paper)
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Contents
B
Preface to this edition bymarc lange page xi
Acknowledgements xiii
Part I Acritiqueof the Regularity theory 1
1 Introductory 3
1 Theimportanceofourtopic 3
2 Apossibledifficultyininvestigatingourtopic 5
3 Assumptions 7
4 TheRegularitytheory 9
2 Critique of the Regularity theory (1): The problem of accidental
uniformities 10
1 TheNaiveRegularitytheoryoflaw 10
2 ClassificationofcriticismsoftheRegularitytheory 11
3 Single-caseuniformities 12
4 Howtopassfromsingle-caseuniformitiestomulti-caseuniformities 14
5 HowtopassfromlocaluniformitiestoHumeanuniformities 15
6 Unrealizedphysicalpossibilities 16
7 Humeanuniformitieswithnon-existentsubjects 17
3 Critique of the Regularity theory (2) 22
1 Spatio-temporallylimitedlaws 22
2 Localuniformitiesaslaws 24
3 Infinitelyqualifiedlaws 25
4 Probabilisticlaws 27
5 Probabilisticlaws:theretreattoPositivism 32
6 Functionallaws 35
4 Critique of the Regularity theory (3) 36
1 Lackofinnerconnection 36
2 LawsofnatureasPrinciplesofExplanation 37
3 TheParadoxesofConfirmation 38
4 TheProblemofCounterfactuals 43
5 TheProblemofInduction 48
vii
viii
5 Can the Regularity theorybe sophisticated? 56
1 Preliminary 56
2 Epistemicrestrictionuponuniformities 57
3 TheResiliencysolution 60
4 Systematicrestrictionsuponuniformities 61
Part II Laws ofnature asrelationsbetween universals 69
6 Lawsof nature as relations between universals 71
1 Theneedforuniversals 71
2 Thetheoryofuniversals 75
3 Afirstformulation 78
4 Lawsasuniversals 81
5 Causationasarelationbetweenparticulars 86
6 Necessitation,universalsandlaws 89
7 Advantagesandsomedisadvantagesofconceivingoflaws
ofnatureasrelationsbetweenuniversals 92
8 Braithwaite’sandPopper’sargument 99
7 Functionallaws 103
8 Uninstantiated laws 109
1 Tooley’scases 109
2 Tooley’sconclusions 110
3 Tooley’scasessolvedbytheintroductionofpowers? 113
4 AscepticaltreatmentofTooley’scases 115
5 Uninstantiatedlawswithnomicallyimpossibleantecedents 117
9 Probabilistic laws 119
1 Theformofprobabilisticlaws 119
2 Probabilisticlawsasprobabilitiesofnecessitation 122
3 Othertypesofprobabilisticlaws 126
10 Further considerationsconcerningthe formof laws 128
1 Scientificidentification 128
2 Lawswithuniversalscope 131
3 ArethereanyExclusionlaws? 134
4 Ironlawsandoakenlaws 137
5 Disjunctivelaws 140
6 Dolawsalwayslinkthepropertiesofthesameobject? 143
7 Formalpropertiesofnecessitation 145
11 Are the laws ofnature necessaryor contingent? 148
1 Argumentsforthenecessityoflaws 149
2 StrongNecessity 152
ix
3 WeakNecessity 155
4 Uninstantiatedlaws 158
Conclusions 161
Works cited 163
Index 166