Questions tagged [laws-of-nature]
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Are there any philosophers who believe all true statements about the physical world are laws of physics?
Are there any philosophers who believe that all true statements about the physical world are laws of physics? Certainly, laws of physics are a subset of true physical statements, but are there any ...
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What enforces the laws of physics? [closed]
Constructor theory reframes physics in terms of which tasks are possible or impossible; expressed via counterfactual constraints rather than dynamical laws.
If such constraints are taken to be ...
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Is the relation between similarity and compressibility linear, or does it behave like a step function?
In everyday reasoning we often treat similarity as something that scales linearly:
the more two things resemble one another, the more likely they share a cause or structure.
However, from an ...
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Are the laws of nature eternal? [closed]
Recently I was reading about Spinoza's philosophy and the Islamic philosophy regarding the attributes of god and came to my mind this question in modern philosophy are the laws of nature considered ...
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How can one run a compressibility argument against convoluted natural hypotheses?
It is often said in philosophical parlance that one reason to not believe in any of an infinite number of seemingly convoluted hypotheses that explain the same data is because they are much more ...
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Can the whole have regularities represented by physical laws but not the parts?
In science, we seem to have laws that apply to groups of things but not the individual things themselves. Some have used this to suggest that in some sense, the “whole” is more fundamental than the ...
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How can something be consistent with the laws of nature but inconsistent with natural law?
Take, for example, the controversial topic of homosexuality. Homosexuality aligns with the laws of nature, as it occurs naturally in various species (homosexual behavior in animals) and does not ...
user90684
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Under physicalism, what is the ontological status of the laws of logic, and what is their relationship to the laws of physics?
SCOPE: I'm seeking answers from the perspective of physicalism.
If physicalism is true, what is the ontological status of the laws of logic, and what is their relationship to the laws of physics? Are ...
user80226
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If the laws of nature are not metaphysically fundamental, what alternative explanations could account for the regularities observed in nature? [closed]
Suppose, for the sake of argument, that the answer to Are there laws of Nature? is "no"—there are no metaphysically fundamental laws causing the universe to behave regularly. If we rule out ...
user80226
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Is there greater explanatory power in laws governing things rather than being descriptive?
If laws merely describe things in the world, then it seems that there is no reason for a particular object to behave according to a particular law the next moment.
If laws govern/order/command reality ...
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How do we differentiate between the unknown and the impossible? [closed]
When we think of things as impossible, we usually think of things that are contrary to current scientific knowledge, such as nothing being able to travel faster than the speed of light.
This is deemed ...
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How does the Humean view of the laws of nature explain why objects behave according to laws?
The Humean view regarding the laws of nature is that laws are merely descriptions of the world. They merely describe, rather than prescribe, the behavior of objects that follow certain patterns.
But ...
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Is it ever reasonable to conclude that the laws of nature have been violated based solely on testimony?
This question assumes the existence of laws of nature. As I recognize that this premise may be controversial to some extent, frame-challenging answers are welcome. However, please note that there are ...
user80226
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Is the Multiverse Also "Fine-Tuned"? [closed]
The apparent fine-tuning of our universe for the existence of conscious life arises from the observation that certain fundamental constants and laws seem precisely calibrated to allow for complex ...
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Are the laws of physics brute facts or metaphysical necessities?
Definitions
Brute fact: In contemporary philosophy, a brute fact is a fact that cannot be explained in terms of a deeper, more "fundamental" fact. There are two main ways to explain ...
user80226