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Single Idea 5473

[filed under theme 26. Natural Theory / D. Laws of Nature / 1. Laws of Nature ]

Full Idea

If the natural kinds are divided into hierarchical categories, then essentialists would expect the laws of nature also to divide up into these categories, with the same hierarchy.

Clarification

A 'hierarchy' is a branched arrangement, with higher and lower groups

Gist of Idea

The laws of nature imitate the hierarchy of natural kinds

Source

Brian Ellis (The Philosophy of Nature: new essentialism [2002], Ch.5)

Book Ref

Ellis,Brian: 'The Philosophy of Nature: new essentialism' [Acumen 2002], p.85


A Reaction

This seems to me a real step forwards in our understanding of nature, and hence a nice example of the contribution which philosophy can make, instead of just physics.


The 40 ideas with the same theme [nature and status of the regularities of nature]:

Greeks explained regularity by intellectual design, not by laws [Democritus, by Frede,M]
Principles of things are not hidden features of forms, but the laws by which they were formed [Newton]
The principles of my treatise are designed to fit with a belief in God [Newton]
God's laws would be meaningless without internal powers for following them [Leibniz]
Each possible world contains its own laws, reflected in the possible individuals of that world [Leibniz]
An entelechy is a law of the series of its event within some entity [Leibniz]
Euler said nature is instrinsically passive, and minds cause change [Euler, by Ellis]
Scientists don't know the cause of magnetism, and only discover its regulations [Reid]
Laws are rules for effects, but these need a cause; rules of navigation don't navigate [Reid]
The principle of the law of nature is that matter is passive, and is acted upon [Reid]
The world is full of variety, but laws seem to produce uniformity [Peirce]
Our laws of nature may be the result of evolution [Peirce]
In religious thought nature is a complex of arbitrary acts by conscious beings [Nietzsche]
The law of gravity has many consequences beyond its grounding observations [Russell]
General relativity assumes laws of nature are the same in all frames of reference [Einstein, by Close]
Science depends on laws of nature to study unobserved times and spaces [Armstrong]
A universe couldn't consist of mere laws [Armstrong]
For 'passivists' behaviour is imposed on things from outside [Ellis]
The laws of nature imitate the hierarchy of natural kinds [Ellis]
Laws of nature tend to describe ideal things, or ideal circumstances [Ellis]
We must explain the necessity, idealisation, ontology and structure of natural laws [Ellis]
Laws don't exist in the world; they are true of the world [Ellis]
Newton's First Law cannot be demonstrated experimentally, as that needs absence of external forces [Harré]
Classification is just as important as laws in natural science [Harré]
Physics aims for a list of natural properties [Lewis]
Physics discovers laws and causal explanations, and also the natural properties required [Lewis]
The normative view says laws show the natural behaviour of natural kind members [Lowe, by Mumford/Anjum]
In the 'laws' view events are basic, and properties are categorical, only existing when manifested [Mumford]
There are four candidates for the logical form of law statements [Mumford]
Laws of nature are ontological bedrock, and beyond analysis [Maudlin]
Laws are primitive, so two indiscernible worlds could have the same laws [Maudlin]
Fundamental laws say how nature will, or might, evolve from some initial state [Maudlin]
Laws are explanatory relationships of things, which supervene on their essences [Bird]
Newton's laws cannot be confirmed individually, but only in combinations [Bird]
Parapsychology is mere speculation, because it offers no mechanisms for its working [Bird]
Existence requires laws, as inertia or gravity are needed for mass or matter [Bird]
Science may have uninstantiated laws, inferred from approaching some unrealised limit [Ladyman/Ross]
Many causal laws do not refer to kinds, but only to properties [Chakravartty]
Dispositional essentialism says fundamental laws of nature are strict, not ceteris paribus [Corry]
Any process can go backwards or forwards in time without violating the basic laws of physics [Ingthorsson]