Laws of Physics

This Element is a unified approach to understanding the laws of physics and their place in systematic philosophy.

Eddy Keming Chen (Author)

9781009479356, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 20 June 2024

96 pages
22.9 x 15.2 x 0.6 cm, 0.277 kg

'… succeeds in introducing some of the main topics and views in the literature on laws at a level suitable for an advanced undergraduate or graduate student reader. The choice of topics is interesting and timely.' John Dougherty, Metascience

Despite its apparent complexity, our world seems to be governed by simple laws of physics. This volume provides a philosophical introduction to such laws. I explain how they are connected to some of the central issues in philosophy, such as ontology, possibility, explanation, induction, counterfactuals, time, determinism, and fundamentality. I suggest that laws are fundamental facts that govern the world by constraining its physical possibilities. I examine three hallmarks of laws-simplicity, exactness, and objectivity-and discuss whether and how they may be associated with laws of physics.

1. Introduction
2. Conceptual connections
3. Minimal primitivism
4. Other accounts
5. Simplicity
6. Exactness
7. Objectivity
8. Conclusion
References.

Subject Areas: Philosophy [HP]