
John T. Roberts presents and defends a radically new theory of laws of nature, the Measurability Account. Though consistent with a Humean ontology, Roberts's theory differs sharply from the most influential Humean theory of laws, David Lewis's Best-System Analysis. Unlike other Humean theories, the Measurability Account affirms that there is an important sense in which the laws govern the universe, rather than simply describing it economically. Yet unlike non-Humean theories, it requires only minimal metaphysical commitments. In this way, it combines the advantages of Humean and non-Humean approaches to laws, while avoiding the pitfalls of each. At the heart of the Measurability Account are two new ideas: that lawhood is not a property of facts but rather a role that a proposition can play within a scientific theory, and that what is essential to laws is that they guarantee the reliability of methods of measuring natural quantities. On the basis of these ideas, Roberts argues that we can offer an informative and compelling explanation of why laws have the peculiar counterfactual resilience that sets them apart from accidental uniformities.
How can the laws of nature govern the universe while remaining consistent with a Humean ontology? John T. Roberts, a philosopher specializing in the metaphysics of science, proposes the Measurability Account to bridge the gap between Humean and non-Humean perspectives. By arguing that lawhood is a functional role within scientific theories rather than a property of facts, he provides a framework that explains the counterfactual resilience of laws without requiring heavy metaphysical commitments.
What You Will Find
Scope Limits
Experts in the philosophy of science recognize this work as a significant contribution to the ongoing debate regarding the nature of physical laws. Readers frequently note the technical density of the prose, which requires a strong background in analytic metaphysics to fully grasp the author's arguments.
Page Count:
320
Publication Date:
2009-01-01
Publisher:
Oxford University Press
ISBN-10:
0191565318
ISBN-13:
9780191565311
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