Ideas from 'How the Laws of Physics Lie' by Nancy Cartwright [1983], by Theme Structure
[found in 'How the Laws of Physics Lie' by Cartwright,Nancy [OUP 2002,0-19-824704-4]].
green numbers give full details |
back to texts
|
expand these ideas
7. Existence / E. Categories / 4. Category Realism
16185
|
Causality indicates which properties are real
|
14. Science / D. Explanation / 2. Types of Explanation / a. Types of explanation
16182
|
Two main types of explanation are by causes, or by citing a theoretical framework
|
14. Science / D. Explanation / 2. Types of Explanation / c. Explanations by coherence
16184
|
An explanation is a model that fits a theory and predicts the phenomenological laws
|
14. Science / D. Explanation / 2. Types of Explanation / e. Lawlike explanations
16167
|
Laws get the facts wrong, and explanation rests on improvements and qualifications of laws
|
16169
|
Laws apply to separate domains, but real explanations apply to intersecting domains
|
16171
|
The covering law view assumes that each phenomenon has a 'right' explanation
|
16176
|
Covering-law explanation lets us explain storms by falling barometers
|
16177
|
I disagree with the covering-law view that there is a law to cover every single case
|
16180
|
You can't explain one quail's behaviour by just saying that all quails do it
|
14. Science / D. Explanation / 3. Best Explanation / c. Against best explanation
16183
|
In science, best explanations have regularly turned out to be false
|
26. Natural Theory / C. Causation / 8. Particular Causation / e. Probabilistic causation
16175
|
A cause won't increase the effect frequency if other causes keep interfering
|
26. Natural Theory / D. Laws of Nature / 2. Types of Laws
6781
|
There are fundamental explanatory laws (false!), and phenomenological laws (regularities) [Bird]
|
16166
|
Laws of appearances are 'phenomenological'; laws of reality are 'theoretical'
|
26. Natural Theory / D. Laws of Nature / 4. Regularities / b. Best system theory
16179
|
Good organisation may not be true, and the truth may not organise very much
|
26. Natural Theory / D. Laws of Nature / 11. Against Laws of Nature
16178
|
There are few laws for when one theory meets another
|
16170
|
To get from facts to equations, we need a prepared descriptions suited to mathematics
|
16181
|
Simple laws have quite different outcomes when they act in combinations
|