Cited by 315Philosophy of Biology and Scientific ExplanationLogic and Philosophy of ScienceEpistemology, Ethics, and Metaphysics

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Laws of Nature

Carroll, John W.·1994·Cambridge University Press eBooks

DOI 10.1017/cbo9780511619908

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Abstract

John Carroll undertakes a careful philosophical examination of laws of nature, causation, and other related topics. He argues that laws of nature are not susceptible to the sort of philosophical treatment preferred by empiricists. Indeed he shows that emperically pure matters of fact need not even determine what the laws are. Similar, even stronger, conclusions are drawn about causation. Replacing the traditional view of laws and causation requiring some kind of foundational legitimacy, the author argues that these phenomena are inextricably intertwined with everything else. This distinctively clear and detailed discussion of what it is to be a law will be valuable to a broad swathe of philosophers in metaphysics, the philosophy of mind, and the philosophy of science.

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Might Laws of Nature ‘Ground’ Phenomena?
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Counterfactual Conditionals
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Afterword
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Laws of Nature
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Laws
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Dedication
(2009) · doi:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199256860.002.0004
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Contract Law and Causation: An Illustration
(2009) · doi:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199256860.005.0002
List of Statutes
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Copyright Page
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Authors: Carroll, J. W.
Corresponding author: Carroll, John W.
ORCID: Carroll, John W.
Venue: Cambridge University Press eBooks
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Published: 1994-02-25
DOI: 10.1017/cbo9780511619908
OpenAlex: W4245724896
Cited by: 314
References: 0
Citations by year: 2026: 3 · 2025: 49 · 2024: 14 · 2023: 11 · 2022: 13 · 2021: 7 · 2020: 13 · 2019: 11 · 2018: 6 · 2017: 5 · 2016: 10 · 2015: 14 · 2014: 3 · 2013: 16 · 2012: 4
FWCI: 4.95
Type: book
Language: en
Open access: closed
Licence: www.cambridge.org/core/terms (unspecified, 5800 d)
Locations: Cambridge University Press eBooks (publishedVersion)
Topics: Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › History and Philosophy of Science › Philosophy of Biology and Scientific Explanation
Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › History and Philosophy of Science › Logic and Philosophy of Science
Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › Philosophy › Epistemology, Ethics, and Metaphysics
Keywords: laws of nature, causality, empiricism, matters of fact, foundationalism, metaphysics of law, philosophy of mind, philosophy of science

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