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Full Idea
We know the laws of the physical world, in so far as they are mathematical, pretty well, but we know nothing else about it.
Gist of Idea
We only know the mathematical laws, but not much else
Source
John Hawthorne (Causal Structuralism [2001], Ch.25)
Book Ref
Hawthorne,John: 'Metaphysical Essays' [OUP 2002], p.264
A Reaction
Lovely remark [spotted by Hawthorne]. This sums up exactly what I take to be the most pressing issue in philosophy of science - that we develop a view of science that has space for the next step in explanation.
| 15123 | Is the causal profile of a property its essence? [Hawthorne] |
| 15122 | Could two different properties have the same causal profile? [Hawthorne] |
| 15121 | An individual essence is a necessary and sufficient profile for a thing [Hawthorne] |
| 15124 | If properties are more than their powers, we could have two properties with the same power [Hawthorne] |
| 15126 | Maybe scientific causation is just generalisation about the patterns [Hawthorne] |
| 15127 | A categorical basis could hardly explain a disposition if it had no powers of its own [Hawthorne] |
| 15128 | We can treat the structure/form of the world differently from the nodes/matter of the world [Hawthorne] |
| 15125 | We only know the mathematical laws, but not much else [Hawthorne] |