Some Morals from the Physico-Mathematical Character of Scientific Laws
Autor(a) principal: | |
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Data de Publicação: | 2022 |
Tipo de documento: | Artigo |
Idioma: | eng |
Título da fonte: | Trans/Form/Ação (Online) |
Texto Completo: | https://revistas.marilia.unesp.br/index.php/transformacao/article/view/7009 |
Resumo: | This article derives some morals from the examination of the physico-mathematical view of scientific laws and its place in the current debate. After revisiting the expression scientific law, which appears in scientific practice under various names (laws, principles, equations, symmetries, and postulates), I briefly assess two extreme, opposite positions in the literature on laws, namely, full-blown metaphysics of laws of nature, which distinguishes such laws from the more mundane laws that we find in science; and the no-laws thesis, which ultimately contends that we should dispense with laws in science altogether. I argue that both positions fail to make sense of the laws that we find in scientific practice. For this, I outline the following twofold claim: first, most laws (in physics) are abstract mathematical statements; and second, they express some of the best physical generalisations achieved in this branch of science. Thus understood, a minimal construal of laws suggests that they are in principle intended to refer to those features of phenomena whose salience and stability are relevant for specific scientific tasks. |
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Some Morals from the Physico-Mathematical Character of Scientific LawsSome Morals from the Physico-Mathematical Character of Scientific LawsScientific lawslaws of naturemathematicsmetaphysicsontologyScientific lawsLaws of natureMathematicsMetaphysicsThis article derives some morals from the examination of the physico-mathematical view of scientific laws and its place in the current debate. After revisiting the expression scientific law, which appears in scientific practice under various names (laws, principles, equations, symmetries, and postulates), I briefly assess two extreme, opposite positions in the literature on laws, namely, full-blown metaphysics of laws of nature, which distinguishes such laws from the more mundane laws that we find in science; and the no-laws thesis, which ultimately contends that we should dispense with laws in science altogether. I argue that both positions fail to make sense of the laws that we find in scientific practice. For this, I outline the following twofold claim: first, most laws (in physics) are abstract mathematical statements; and second, they express some of the best physical generalisations achieved in this branch of science. Thus understood, a minimal construal of laws suggests that they are in principle intended to refer to those features of phenomena whose salience and stability are relevant for specific scientific tasks. This article derives some morals from the examination of the physico-mathematical view of scientific laws and its place in the current debate. After revisiting the expression scientific law, which appears in scientific practice under various names (laws, principles, equations, symmetries, and postulates), I briefly assess two extreme, opposite positions in the literature on laws, namely, full-blown metaphysics of laws of nature, which distinguishes such laws from the more mundane laws that we find in science; and the no-laws thesis, which ultimately contends that we should dispense with laws in science altogether. I argue that both positions fail to make sense of the laws that we find in scientific practice. For this, I outline the following twofold claim: first, most laws (in physics) are abstract mathematical statements; and second, they express some of the best physical generalisations achieved in this branch of science. Thus understood, a minimal construal of laws suggests that they are in principle intended to refer to those features of phenomena whose salience and stability are relevant for specific scientific tasks. Faculdade de Filosofia e Ciências2022-07-17info:eu-repo/semantics/articleinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersionapplication/pdftext/htmlapplication/x-mobipocket-ebookapplication/epub+ziphttps://revistas.marilia.unesp.br/index.php/transformacao/article/view/7009TRANS/FORM/AÇÃO: Revista de Filosofia da Unesp; v. 43 n. 4: Outubro-Dezembro/2020; 65-88TRANS/FORM/AÇÃO: Revista de Filosofia; Vol. 43 No. 4: October-December/2020; 65-88TRANS/FORM/AÇÃO: Revista de Filosofia; Vol. 43 Núm. 4: Outubro-Dezembro/2020; 65-88TRANS/FORM/AÇÃO: Revista de Filosofia; Vol. 43 No. 4: Outubro-Dezembro/2020; 65-88TRANS/FORM/AÇÃO: Revista de Filosofia; V. 43 N. 4: Outubro-Dezembro/2020; 65-881980-539X0101-3173reponame:Trans/Form/Ação (Online)instname:Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP)instacron:UNESPenghttps://revistas.marilia.unesp.br/index.php/transformacao/article/view/7009/9551https://revistas.marilia.unesp.br/index.php/transformacao/article/view/7009/9553https://revistas.marilia.unesp.br/index.php/transformacao/article/view/7009/14465https://revistas.marilia.unesp.br/index.php/transformacao/article/view/7009/14467Copyright (c) 2020 TRANS/FORM/AÇÃO: Revista de Filosofiahttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccessSoto, Cristian2023-05-30T21:59:36Zoai:ojs.revistas.marilia.unesp.br:article/7009Revistahttps://revistas.marilia.unesp.br/index.php/transformacao/PUBhttps://old.scielo.br/oai/scielo-oai.phptransformacao@marilia.unesp.br1980-539X0101-3173opendoar:2023-05-30T21:59:36Trans/Form/Ação (Online) - Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP)false |
dc.title.none.fl_str_mv |
Some Morals from the Physico-Mathematical Character of Scientific Laws Some Morals from the Physico-Mathematical Character of Scientific Laws |
title |
Some Morals from the Physico-Mathematical Character of Scientific Laws |
spellingShingle |
Some Morals from the Physico-Mathematical Character of Scientific Laws Soto, Cristian Scientific laws laws of nature mathematics metaphysics ontology Scientific laws Laws of nature Mathematics Metaphysics |
title_short |
Some Morals from the Physico-Mathematical Character of Scientific Laws |
title_full |
Some Morals from the Physico-Mathematical Character of Scientific Laws |
title_fullStr |
Some Morals from the Physico-Mathematical Character of Scientific Laws |
title_full_unstemmed |
Some Morals from the Physico-Mathematical Character of Scientific Laws |
title_sort |
Some Morals from the Physico-Mathematical Character of Scientific Laws |
author |
Soto, Cristian |
author_facet |
Soto, Cristian |
author_role |
author |
dc.contributor.author.fl_str_mv |
Soto, Cristian |
dc.subject.por.fl_str_mv |
Scientific laws laws of nature mathematics metaphysics ontology Scientific laws Laws of nature Mathematics Metaphysics |
topic |
Scientific laws laws of nature mathematics metaphysics ontology Scientific laws Laws of nature Mathematics Metaphysics |
description |
This article derives some morals from the examination of the physico-mathematical view of scientific laws and its place in the current debate. After revisiting the expression scientific law, which appears in scientific practice under various names (laws, principles, equations, symmetries, and postulates), I briefly assess two extreme, opposite positions in the literature on laws, namely, full-blown metaphysics of laws of nature, which distinguishes such laws from the more mundane laws that we find in science; and the no-laws thesis, which ultimately contends that we should dispense with laws in science altogether. I argue that both positions fail to make sense of the laws that we find in scientific practice. For this, I outline the following twofold claim: first, most laws (in physics) are abstract mathematical statements; and second, they express some of the best physical generalisations achieved in this branch of science. Thus understood, a minimal construal of laws suggests that they are in principle intended to refer to those features of phenomena whose salience and stability are relevant for specific scientific tasks. |
publishDate |
2022 |
dc.date.none.fl_str_mv |
2022-07-17 |
dc.type.driver.fl_str_mv |
info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion |
format |
article |
status_str |
publishedVersion |
dc.identifier.uri.fl_str_mv |
https://revistas.marilia.unesp.br/index.php/transformacao/article/view/7009 |
url |
https://revistas.marilia.unesp.br/index.php/transformacao/article/view/7009 |
dc.language.iso.fl_str_mv |
eng |
language |
eng |
dc.relation.none.fl_str_mv |
https://revistas.marilia.unesp.br/index.php/transformacao/article/view/7009/9551 https://revistas.marilia.unesp.br/index.php/transformacao/article/view/7009/9553 https://revistas.marilia.unesp.br/index.php/transformacao/article/view/7009/14465 https://revistas.marilia.unesp.br/index.php/transformacao/article/view/7009/14467 |
dc.rights.driver.fl_str_mv |
Copyright (c) 2020 TRANS/FORM/AÇÃO: Revista de Filosofia http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
rights_invalid_str_mv |
Copyright (c) 2020 TRANS/FORM/AÇÃO: Revista de Filosofia http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 |
eu_rights_str_mv |
openAccess |
dc.format.none.fl_str_mv |
application/pdf text/html application/x-mobipocket-ebook application/epub+zip |
dc.publisher.none.fl_str_mv |
Faculdade de Filosofia e Ciências |
publisher.none.fl_str_mv |
Faculdade de Filosofia e Ciências |
dc.source.none.fl_str_mv |
TRANS/FORM/AÇÃO: Revista de Filosofia da Unesp; v. 43 n. 4: Outubro-Dezembro/2020; 65-88 TRANS/FORM/AÇÃO: Revista de Filosofia; Vol. 43 No. 4: October-December/2020; 65-88 TRANS/FORM/AÇÃO: Revista de Filosofia; Vol. 43 Núm. 4: Outubro-Dezembro/2020; 65-88 TRANS/FORM/AÇÃO: Revista de Filosofia; Vol. 43 No. 4: Outubro-Dezembro/2020; 65-88 TRANS/FORM/AÇÃO: Revista de Filosofia; V. 43 N. 4: Outubro-Dezembro/2020; 65-88 1980-539X 0101-3173 reponame:Trans/Form/Ação (Online) instname:Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP) instacron:UNESP |
instname_str |
Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP) |
instacron_str |
UNESP |
institution |
UNESP |
reponame_str |
Trans/Form/Ação (Online) |
collection |
Trans/Form/Ação (Online) |
repository.name.fl_str_mv |
Trans/Form/Ação (Online) - Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP) |
repository.mail.fl_str_mv |
transformacao@marilia.unesp.br |
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