The Law-Governed Universe
Author:   John T. Roberts (University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill)
Publisher:   Oxford University Press
ISBN:  

9780199655939


Pages:   420
Publication Date:   05 July 2012
Format:   Paperback
Availability:   Manufactured on demand   Availability explained
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The Law-Governed Universe


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Overview

John T. Roberts presents and defends a radically new theory of laws of nature, the Measurability Account. Though consistent with a Humean ontology, Roberts's theory differs sharply from the most influential Humean theory of laws, David Lewis's Best-System Analysis. Unlike other Humean theories, the Measurability Account affirms that there is an important sense in which the laws govern the universe, rather than simply describing it economically. Yet unlike non-Humean theories, it requires only minimal metaphysical commitments. In this way, it combines the advantages of Humean and non-Humean approaches to laws, while avoiding the pitfalls of each. At the heart of the Measurability Account are two new ideas: that lawhood is not a property of facts but rather a role that a proposition can play within a scientific theory, and that what is essential to laws is that they guarantee the reliability of methods of measuring natural quantities. On the basis of these ideas, Roberts argues that we can offer an informative and compelling explanation of why laws have the peculiar counterfactual resilience that sets them apart from accidental uniformities.

Full Product Details

Author:   John T. Roberts (University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill)
Publisher:   Oxford University Press
Imprint:   Oxford University Press
Dimensions:   Width: 15.60cm , Height: 2.20cm , Length: 23.40cm
Weight:   0.590kg
ISBN:  

9780199655939


ISBN 10:   0199655936
Pages:   420
Publication Date:   05 July 2012
Audience:   College/higher education ,  Professional and scholarly ,  Undergraduate ,  Postgraduate, Research & Scholarly
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Manufactured on demand   Availability explained
We will order this item for you from a manufactured on demand supplier.

Table of Contents

1: The law-governed world-picture 2: In defense of some received views 3: The meta-theoretic conception of laws 4: An epistemological argument for the meta-theoretic conception of laws 5: Laws, governing, and counterfactuals 6: When would the laws have been different? 7: How could science show that the laws govern? 8: Measurement and counterfactuals 9: What lawhood is 10: Beyond Humean and Non-Humean Appendix: The MAL in action: A few examples of scientific theories and their laws

Reviews

Review from previous edition an important book that deserves serious consideration by metaphysicians and philosophers of science alike. The Philosophical Quarterly


`Review from previous edition an important book that deserves serious consideration by metaphysicians and philosophers of science alike. ' The Philosophical Quarterly


Review from previous edition an important book that deserves serious consideration by metaphysicians and philosophers of science alike. * The Philosophical Quarterly *


Author Information

John T. Roberts is Associate Professor of Philosophy at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. He received his BS in Physics from the Georgia Institute of Technology and his PhD in Philosophy from the University of Pittsburgh. His research focuses on the intersection of philosophy of science and metaphysics.

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