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14933 | Scientific properties are defined by the laws that embody them |
Full Idea: For Psillos, properties in mature science are defined by the laws in which they feature. | |||
From: report of Stathis Psillos (Scientific Realism [1999]) by J Ladyman / D Ross - Every Thing Must Go 3.5 | |||
A reaction: This is a perfect example of the Humean approach getting everything the wrong way round. Laws are not primitives from which we derive our account of nature - they are generalisations built up from the behaviour of prior properties. |