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Natural Necessity and Laws of Nature

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 April 2022

Herbert Hochberg
Herbert Hochberg*
Affiliation:
Department of Philosophy, University of Texas
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Abstract

The paper considers recent proposals by Armstrong, Dretske, and Tooley that revive the view that statements of laws of nature are grounded by the existence of higher order facts relating universale. Several objections to such a view are raised and an alternative analysis, recognizing general facts, is considered. Such an alternative is shown to meet a number of the objections raised against the appeal to higher order facts and it is also related to views of Hume and Wittgenstein. Further objections are then raised to all the non-Humean “realist” attempts to provide special facts to ground the laws of nature.

Type
Research Article
Information
Philosophy of Science , Volume 48 , Issue 3 , September 1981 , pp. 386 - 399
Copyright
Copyright © 1981 by the Philosophy of Science Association

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References

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