Laws and Counterfactuals: Defusing an Argument against the Humean View of Laws
Dialogue 50 (04):751-758 (2011)
| Abstract | ABSTRACT: Appealing to the failure of counterfactual support is a standard device in refuting a Humean view on laws of nature: some true generalisations do not support relevant counterfactuals; therefore not every true general fact is a law of nature—so goes the refutation. I will argue that this strategy does not work, for our understanding of the truth-value of any counterfactual is grounded in our understanding of the lawhood of some statements related to it. | |||||||||
| Keywords | Laws of nature Counterfactual support | |||||||||
| Categories | ||||||||||
| Options |
|
|||||||||
Download options| PhilPapers Archive |
Upload a copy of this paper Check publisher's policy on self-archival Papers currently archived: 5,664 |
| External links |
 |
| Through your library | Configure |
Similar books and articlesDanilo Šuster (2005). Popper on Laws and Counterfactuals. Croatian Journal of Philosophy 5 (1):109-119.
Jens Harbecke (2011). Mind in a Humean World. Metaphysica 12 (2):213-229.
Michael Esfeld (2010). Causal Overdetermination for Humeans? Metaphysica 11 (2):99-104.
Heather Demarest (2012). Do Counterfactuals Ground the Laws of Nature? A Critique of Lange. Philosophy of Science 79 (3):333-344.
Marc Lange (2004). A Note on Scientific Essentialism, Laws of Nature, and Counterfactual Conditionals. Australasian Journal of Philosophy 82 (2):227 – 241.
Lydia Jaeger (2002). Humean Supervenience and Best-System Laws. International Studies in the Philosophy of Science 16 (2):141 – 155.
Stephen Mumford (2005). Laws and Lawlessness. Synthese 144 (3):397?413.
Marc Lange (1999). Why Are the Laws of Nature so Important to Science? Philosophy and Phenomenological Research 59 (3):625-652.
Marc Lange (2005). Laws and Their Stability. Synthese 144 (3):415Ð432.
Stephen Barker (2011). Can Counterfactuals Really Be About Possible Worlds? Noûs 45 (3):557-576.
John T. Roberts (2008). The Law-Governed Universe. Oxford University Press.
Adam Morton (1973). If I Were a Dry Well-Made Match. Dialogue 12 (02):322-324.
Helen Beebee (2000). The Non-Governing Conception of Laws of Nature. Philosophy and Phenomenological Research 61 (3):571-594.
Helen Beebee & Alfred R. Mele (2002). Humean Compatibilism. Mind 111 (442):201-223.
John-Michael Kuczynski (2005). Counterfactuals: The Epistemic Analysis. Philosophia Scientiae 9 (1):83-126.
Analytics
Monthly downloads |
Added to index2012-03-31Total downloads24 ( #51,571 of 549,013 )Recent downloads (6 months)1 ( #63,261 of 549,013 )How can I increase my downloads? |
My notes
Discussion
