Abstract
I propose and motivate a new account of fundamental physical laws, the Measurability Account of Laws (MAL). This account has a distinctive logical form, in that it takes the primary nomological concept to be that of a law relative to a given theory, and defines a law simpliciter as a law relative to some true theory. What makes a proposition a law relative to a theory is that it plays an indispensable role in demonstrating that some quantity posited by that theory is measurable. In Section 1, I motivate the project of seeking a philosophical account of fundamental physical laws, as opposed to laws of nature in general. In Section 2, I motivate seeking an account with the distinctive logical form of the MAL. In Section 3, I present the MAL and illustrate the way it works by applying it to a simple example.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
D. M. Armstrong (1983) What is a Law of Nature? Cambridge University Press Cambridge
J. Carroll (1994) Laws of Nature Cambridge University Press Cambridge
B. C. Fraassen Particlevan (1989) Laws and Symmetry Clarendon Press Oxford
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Roberts, J.T. Measurability And Physical Laws. Synthese 144, 433–447 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11229-005-5875-0
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11229-005-5875-0