The laws of nature, or the nature of laws.
Are laws just “privileged regularities”, something that holds true in our universe, but that could easily have been different, or are laws something more than mere regularities and in some sense necessary?
Main content
“What can possibly happen?” When we ask this question it is natural that we also question what may limit what can happen. Some important limitations lie in the Laws of Nature, and in this talk I argue that to understand possibility fully, one must also have an understanding of these laws.
But what is a Law of Nature? Are laws just “privileged regularities”, something that holds true in our universe, but that could easily have been different, or are laws something more than mere regularities and in some sense necessary? What would in that case separate the laws from the regularities? Do laws work in-between passive objects in the world, pushing and pulling them around, or are the laws grounded in the objects themselves, making the objects active agents in the world?
In this talk I investigate two different understandings of laws; David Lewis’ doctrine of Humean Supervenience, and Brian Ellis’ Scientific Essentialism.
The lecture will be given by Ragnhild Jordahl .
