Single Idea 15862

[catalogued under 26. Natural Theory / D. Laws of Nature / 2. Types of Laws]

Full Idea

Boyle's Law generalises a mass of messy data culled from an apparatus; Snell's Law is an experimentally derived law deducible from theory; Newton's First Law derives from concepts and thought experiments; Mendel's Law used an experimental procedure.

Clarification

Snell's Law concerns the refraction of light

Gist of Idea

Laws can come from data, from theory, from imagination and concepts, or from procedures

Source

Rom Harré (Laws of Nature [1993], 1)

Book Reference

Harré,Rom: 'Laws of Nature' [Duckworth 1993], p.10


A Reaction

Nice examples, especially since Boyle's and Newton's laws are divided by a huge gulf, and arrived at about the same time. On p.35 Harré says these come down to two: abstraction from experiment, and derivation from deep assumptions.