Mauro DoratoThe Software of the Universe: An Introduction to the History and Philosophy of the Laws of Nature

2011 ◽  
Vol 62 (1) ◽  
pp. 225-232
Author(s):  
Markus Schrenk
Keyword(s):  
Laws Of Nature ◽  
The Universe

Laws of Nature

2018 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Philosophy Of Science ◽  
Laws Of Nature ◽  
Current Debate ◽  
Scientific Theories ◽  
Law Of Nature ◽  
First Time ◽  
The Universe

The concept of a law of nature, while familiar, is deeply puzzling. Theorists such as Descartes think a divine being governs the universe according to the laws which follow from that being’s own nature. Newton detaches the concept from theology and is agnostic about the ontology underlying the laws of nature. Some later philosophers treat laws as summaries of events or tools for understanding and explanation, or identify the laws with principles and equations fundamental to scientific theories. In the first part of this volume, essays from leading historians of philosophy identify central questions: are laws independent of the things they govern, or do they emanate from the powers of bodies? Are the laws responsible for the patterns we see in nature, or should they be collapsed into those patterns? In the second part, contributors at the forefront of current debate evaluate the role of laws in contemporary Best System, perspectival, Kantian, and powers- or mechanisms-based approaches. These essays take up pressing questions about whether the laws of nature can be consistent with contingency, whether laws are based on the invariants of scientific theories, and how to deal with exceptions to laws. These twelve essays, published here for the first time, will be required reading for anyone interested in metaphysics, philosophy of science, and the histories of these disciplines.

scholarly journals Le calendrier révolutionnaire de 1793 ou les quatre saisons de la République

2021 ◽  
Vol 48 (1) ◽  
pp. 45-53
Author(s):  
Paweł Matyaszewski
Keyword(s):  
Laws Of Nature ◽  
New Order ◽  
Natural Cycle ◽  
The Past ◽  
The Republic ◽  
The Universe ◽  
New Time ◽  
The Revolution

The authors of the revolutionary calendar, in particular Gilbert Romme and Fabre d’Églantine not only want to put the past behind by implicating a new time and new order but also try to prove the relation between history and nature using the example of the events of the Revolution and their compliance with the laws of the universe. They introduce an innovative nomenclature in order to specify the names of particular days and months but they do not change the natural four-season model of division. The goal of the presented idea is to enrich the natural cycle with a new content expressing the spirit and the objectives of the Republic while following the laws of nature.

Physics as an Art Form

2018 ◽  
pp. 1-4
Author(s):  
Alvaro De Rújula
Keyword(s):  
General Relativity ◽  
Laws Of Nature ◽  
Space Time ◽  
Einstein’S Equations ◽  
Einstein's Equations ◽  
Ockham’S Razor ◽  
Art Form ◽  
Ockham's Razor ◽  
The Universe ◽  
The Way

Beauty and simplicity, a scientist’s view. A first encounter with Einstein’s equations of General Relativity, space-time, and Gravity. Ockham’s Razor. Why the Universe is the way it is: The origin of the laws of Nature.

Interstellar Overdrive

2020 ◽  
pp. 58-66
Author(s):  
Nicholas Mee
Keyword(s):  
String Theory ◽  
Laws Of Nature ◽  
Platonic Solids ◽  
Symmetrical Shape ◽  
Regular Arrangement ◽  
Spatial Dimensions ◽  
The Universe

Kepler sought patterns and symmetry in the laws of nature. In 1611 he wrote a booklet, De Niva Sexangular (The Six-Cornered Snowflake), in which he attempted to explain the structure of familiar symmetrical objects. Almost 300 years before the existence of atoms was definitively established, he concluded that the symmetrical shape of crystals is due to the regular arrangement of the atoms of which they are formed. He also investigated the structure of geometrical objects such as the Platonic solids and the regular stellated polyhedra, known today as the Kepler–Poinsot polyhedra. Like Kepler, today’s theoretical physicists are seeking patterns and symmetries that explain the universe. According to string theorists, the universe includes six extra hidden spatial dimensions, forming a shape known as a Calabi–Yau manifold. No-one knows whether string theory will revolutionize physics like Kepler’s brilliant insights, or whether it will turn out to be a red herring.

XVII.—Axiomatic Treatment of Kinematical Relativity

1943 ◽  
Vol 61 (3) ◽  
pp. 210-222
Author(s):  
G. C. McVittie
Keyword(s):  
Deductive Reasoning ◽  
Laws Of Nature ◽  
Local Conditions ◽  
Inverse Square Law ◽  
Axiomatic Treatment ◽  
First Case ◽  
Deductive Method ◽  
Local Law ◽  
The Universe ◽  
Deductive Theory

The suggestion has recently been put forward that the laws of nature can be established by purely deductive reasoning instead of by induction from observation. We may, with Eddington, start the chain of reasoning from epistemological premises or, with E. A. Milne, from axiomatic statements regarding the nature of the system to be studied. Different opinions may be held regarding the value of a deductive method, but a final judgment can hardly be passed on a deductive theory until the initial premises are clearly revealed. We may, indeed, justly require of the author of such a theory that he fulfil the following conditions. He should, firstly, be himself aware of all the axioms which he employs. If he is not, there is the obvious danger that he may use inductions from observation without being aware of doing so. But he may also arrive at quite erroneous conclusions about the range of validity of his results. For instance, a deductive theory may produce a formula which is interpreted as the inverse square law of gravitation. It is then very necessary to know whether the initial premises are axioms concerning the nature of the universe as a whole or whether they merely define local conditions. In the first case the law of gravitation is deduced from the nature of the universe as a whole, in the second it is shown to be merely a “local” law.

Malebranche, Nicolas (1638–1715)

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steven Nadler
Keyword(s):  
Seventeenth Century ◽  
Laws Of Nature ◽  
Active Role ◽  
Nicolas Malebranche ◽  
Nature And Grace ◽  
The World ◽  
Public Debates ◽  
Mental Events ◽  
The Universe

Nicolas Malebranche, a French Catholic theologian, was the most important Cartesian philosopher of the second half of the seventeenth century. His philosophical system was a grand synthesis of the thought of his two intellectual mentors: Augustine and Descartes. His most important work, De la recherche de la vérité (The Search After Truth), is a wide-ranging opus that covers various topics in metaphysics, epistemology, ethics, physics, the physiology of cognition, and philosophical theology. It was both admired and criticized by many of the most celebrated thinkers of the period (including Leibniz, Arnauld and Locke), and was the focus of several fierce and time-consuming public debates. Malebranche’s philosophical reputation rests mainly on three doctrines. Occasionalism – of which he is the most systematic and famous exponent – is a theory of causation according to which God is the only genuine causal agent in the universe; all physical and mental events in nature are merely ‘occasions’ for God to exercise his necessarily efficacious power. In the doctrine known as ‘vision in God’, Malebranche argues that the representational ideas that function in human knowledge and perception are, in fact, the ideas in God’s understanding, the eternal archetypes or essences of things. And in his theodicy, Malebranche justifies God’s ways and explains the existence of evil and sin in the world by appealing to the simplicity and universality of the laws of nature and grace that God has established and is compelled to follow. In all three doctrines, Malebranche’s overwhelming concern is to demonstrate the essential and active role of God in every aspect – material, cognitive and moral – of the universe.

scholarly journals On the foundations of dynamics

1936 ◽  
Vol 154 (881) ◽  
pp. 22-52 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Laws Of Nature ◽  
Characteristic Velocity ◽  
Natural Origin ◽  
Guiding Principle ◽  
Newtonian Dynamics ◽  
Single Body ◽  
The World ◽  
Entire Universe ◽  
The Universe ◽  
Mutual Action

1— Observations of red-shifts in the spectra of the extra-galactic nebulae are compatible with the view that the nebulae are receding from one another, and the theory incorporating this phenomenon makes it appear probable that the universe had a definite beginning about 2 x 10 9 years ago. There is thus a natural origin for the reckoning of time, and a definite epoch can be assigned to any given event. Further, at each point in space, at any given epoch, there is a characteristic velocity relative to any chosen observer, and this defines a standard of local rest. This absolute time and characteristic velocity may possibly be involved in the description of the fundamental laws of nature, for example the laws of dynamics and gravitation. It is the object of the present paper tentatively to examine what, if any, modifications in certain laws of nature are to be anticipated in this way. The guiding principle will be to retain the forms of Newtonian dynamics and gravitation as far as possible unchanged. Mach’s Principle 2— It was held by Mach that the property of matter we call inertia is due to the presence of other matter in the universe. Mach’s view was that since (in addition to a temporal experience for the observer) we can describe the motion of a particle only by reference to other particles, these other particles are essential to the description of the motion and so to the possibility of observations which could disclose the possession of inertia. For example, “When we say that a body preserves unchanged its direction and velocity in space , our assertion is nothing more or less than an abbreviated reference to the entire universe.”Again:“ We see that even in the simplest case, in which we deal with the mutual action of only two masses, the neglecting of the rest of the world is impossible.”Lastly:“ In all the dynamical propositions that we have discussed, velocity plays a prominent role. The reason of this, in our view, is that, accurately considered, every single body in the universe stands in some definite relation with every other body in the universe, that any one body, consequently also any several bodies, cannot be regarded as wholly isolated.

scholarly journals Allah versus Setan Laplace: Sebuah Usulan Konsep Tindakan Ilahi Khusus yang Trinitarian, Kovenantal dan Saintifik

2020 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 25-49
Author(s):  
David Alinurdin
Keyword(s):  
Laws Of Nature ◽  
Natural World ◽  
Biblical Theology ◽  
Divine Action ◽  
Physical Processes ◽  
Natural Processes ◽  
Contemporary Science ◽  
Action Project ◽  
Science And Theology ◽  
The Universe

Dalam dekade terakhir, interaksi sains dan teologi dalam upaya membangun konsep tindakan ilahi di dalam dunia natural telah sampai pada satu kesimpulan untuk mencari titik temu kausal di mana Allah Pencipta yang transenden dan nonfisik dapat bertindak di dalam proses-proses natural yang terjadi di dalam dunia ciptaan. Sebuah gerakan akademis yang diakui kredibilitasnya dalam usaha menemukan titik temu kausal dengan cara-cara baru yang memasukkan penafsiran filosofis dari sains kekinian ke dalam teologi adalah Divine Action Project (DAP), yang merumuskan sebuah teori tindakan ilahi yang disebut NIODA (Noninterventionist Objective Divine Action). NIODA berusaha mencari lokus tindakan ilahi khusus yang tidak bertentangan dengan hukum alam yaitu di dalam proses-proses fisik yang dapat ditafsirkan sebagai indeterminisme secara ontologis, seperti mekanika kuantum. Tulisan ini akan mengkaji asumsi-asumsi filosofis di balik NIODA dan memperlihatkan bahwa konsep ini dapat diterima secara saintifik namun tidak memadai secara teologis karena masih terikat dengan asumsi Laplace warisan zaman pencerahan yang menganggap alam semesta ini tertutup secara kausal bagi tindakan ilahi. Karena itu, di bagian terakhir, tulisan ini juga akan mengusulkan beberapa poin penting dalam upaya membangun sebuah konsep tindakan ilahi yang memadai secara teologis maupun saintifik, yang dibangun di atas fondasi teologi penciptaan yang trinitarian dan kovenantal. In the last decade, the interaction between science and theology in the effort to develop the concept of divine action in the natural world has come to a conclusion to find a causal joint where transcendent and nonphysical Creator God can act in natural processes that occur in the world of creation. An academic movement whose credibility has been recognized in its efforts to find a causal joint in new ways that incorporate philosophical interpretations of contemporary science into theology is the Divine Action Project (DAP), which formulates a concept of divine action called NIODA (Noninterventionist Objective Divine Action). NIODA seeks to find a locus of special divine action that does not conflict with laws of nature in physical processes that can be interpreted as ontological indeterminism, such as quantum mechanics. This paper will examine the philosophical assumptions behind NIODA and show that this concept is scientifically acceptable but not theologically adequate because it is still bound by Laplace's assumption of the enlightenment's legacy which considers the universe to be causally closed to divine action. Therefore, in the last part, this paper will also propose several important points in the effort to develop a concept of special divine action that is both theologically and scientifically adequate, built on the basis of a trinitarian and covenantal biblical theology of creation.

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