Full Idea
We explain by ceteris paribus laws, by composition of causes, and by approximations that improve on what the fundamental laws dictate. In all of these cases the fundamental laws patently do not get the facts right.
Gist of Idea
Laws get the facts wrong, and explanation rests on improvements and qualifications of laws
Source
Nancy Cartwright (How the Laws of Physics Lie [1983], Intro)
Book Reference
Cartwright,Nancy: 'How the Laws of Physics Lie' [OUP 2002], p.3
A Reaction
It is rather headline-grabbing to say in this case that laws do not get the facts right. If they were actually 'wrong' and 'lied', there wouldn't be much point in building explanations on them.