Laws and Symmetry

Zusatztext `I wholeheartedly recommend this book. There are many things to be learnt from it! not least its incisive criticisms of "more metaphysical" theories of laws. The work is executed with great erudition and panache.'Peter Menzies! Australian National University Klappentext Metaphysicians speak of laws of nature in terms of necessity and universality; scientists! in terms of symmetry and invariance. In this book van Fraassen argues that no metaphysical account of laws can succeed. He analyzes and rejects the arguments that there are laws of nature! or that we must believe there are! and argues that we should disregard the idea of law as an adequate clue to science. After exploring what this means for general epistemology! the author develops the empiricist view of science as a construction of models to represent the phenomena. Zusammenfassung Argues that no metaphysical account of laws can succeed. This is a book in the philosophy of science, which examines the concept of laws of nature. The author analyses and rejects arguments for the existence of such laws, and argues that there is no point in us believing that they exist. Inhaltsverzeichnis Introduction Part I: Are there laws of nature?; What are the laws of nature?; Ideal science: David Lewis's account of laws; Necessity, worlds, and chance; Universals: Laws grounded in nature; Part II: Belief as rational but lawless: Inference to the best explanation: Salvation by Laws?; Towards a new epistemology; What if there are no laws? A manifesto; Part III: Symmetry as guide to theory: Introduction to the Semantic approach; Symmetry arguments in science and metaphysics; Symmetries guiding modern science; Part IV: Symmetry and the illusion of logical probability: Indifference: The symmetries of probability; Symmetries of probability kinematics; Notes; Bibliography; Index

Klappentext
Metaphysicians speak of laws of nature in terms of necessity and universality; scientists, in terms of symmetry and invariance. In this book van Fraassen argues that no metaphysical account of laws can succeed. He analyzes and rejects the arguments that there are laws of nature, or that we< br> must believe there are, and argues that we should disregard the idea of law as an adequate clue to science. After exploring what this means for general epistemology, the author develops the empiricist view of science as a construction of models to represent the phenomena.

Inhalt
Introduction Part I: Are there laws of nature?; What are the laws of nature?; Ideal science: David Lewis's account of laws; Necessity, worlds, and chance; Universals: Laws grounded in nature; Part II: Belief as rational but lawless: Inference to the best explanation: Salvation by Laws?; Towards a new epistemology; What if there are no laws? A manifesto; Part III: Symmetry as guide to theory: Introduction to the Semantic approach; Symmetry arguments in science and metaphysics; Symmetries guiding modern science; Part IV: Symmetry and the illusion of logical probability: Indifference: The symmetries of probability; Symmetries of probability kinematics; Notes; Bibliography; Index

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