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The Laws' Properties

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Author

Editor

  • Jan Faye
  • Uwe Scheffler
  • Max Urchs

Summary, in English

We are good at discussing law statements of different epistemic status, and to describe logical relationships between different law statements. But contemporary discussion often suffers from a difficulty to formulate questions concerning laws of different ontological status. This paper presents a framework for distinguishing between properties and fake properties that seems to provide better tools for such inquiries. This paper also examines criteria for properties in connection with laws of nature. It discusses three suggested tests for properties, by Maxwell, Ramsey, and Cartwright. None of these tests is good as it stands. Rather than favouring one particular test, we should opt for methodologically stable decisions, i.e. decisions where several tests come to the same conclusion.

Publishing year

2005

Language

English

Pages

239-254

Publication/Series

Nature's principles

Document type

Book chapter

Publisher

Springer

Topic

  • Philosophy

Keywords

  • mechanism
  • Cartwright
  • universal
  • trope
  • Laws of nature

Status

Published

ISBN/ISSN/Other

  • ISBN: 1-4020-3257-9