Philosophical Quarterly 65 (260):509-528 (2015)
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| Abstract |
Three popular views regarding the modal status of the laws of nature are discussed: Humean Supervenience, nomic necessitation, and scientific/dispositional essentialism. These views are examined especially with regard to their take on the apparent modal force of laws and their ability to explain that modal force. It will be suggested that none of the three views, at least in their strongest form, can be maintained if some laws are metaphysically necessary, but others are metaphysically contingent. Some reasons for thinking that such variation in the modal status of laws exists will be presented with reference to physics. This drives us towards a fourth, hybrid view, according to which there are both necessary and contingent laws. The prospects for such a view are studied.
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| Keywords | laws essentialism metaphysical necessity physical necessity natural kinds dispositions dispositional essentialism scientific essentialism nomic necessitation Humean Supervenience |
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| DOI | 10.1093/pq/pqv006 |
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Citations of this work BETA
What Price Changing Laws of Nature?Olivier Sartenaer, Alexandre Guay & Paul Humphreys - 2021 - European Journal for Philosophy of Science 11 (1):1-19.
Disentangling Nature's Joints.Tuomas Tahko - 2017 - In William Simpson, Robert Koons & Nicholas Teh (eds.), Neo-Aristotelian Perspectives on Contemporary Science. Routledge. pp. 147-166.
Explaining the Modal Force of Natural Laws.Andreas Bartels - 2018 - European Journal for Philosophy of Science 9 (1):6.
View all 9 citations / Add more citations
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