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Laws and Lawmakers Science, Metaphysics, and the Laws of Nature
Abstract
What distinguishes laws of nature from ordinary facts? What are the 'lawmakers': the facts in virtue of which the laws are laws? How can laws be necessary, yet contingent? Lange provocatively argues that laws are distinguished by their necessity, while also providing a non-technical and accessible survey of the field.
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“Lange (2009) calls them metalaws.”
From Governing Without A Fundamental Direction of Time: Minimal Primitivism about Laws of Nature (2022) · cites this paper as Lange (2009)
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“Panpsychism has some structural similarities to the theories ofLange (2009) andWhittle (2009), so we are inclined to think that it is susceptible to the Peril of Insufficient Structure as well.”
From The nomological argument for the existence of God (2022) · cites this paper as Lange (2009)
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Items 201–257 of 257
Heil, J. (2021) · doi:10.1093/oso/9780198865452.003.0015
Asay, J. (2020) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781108759465.007
Heil, J. (2021) · doi:10.1093/oso/9780198865452.003.0009
Dumsday, T. (2019) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781108647502.012
Asay, J. (2020) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781108759465.015
Lange, M. (2012) · doi:10.1093/obo/9780195396577-0160
Self-citationLoke, A. T. E. (2022) · Palgrave frontiers in philosophy of religion · doi:10.1007/978-3-030-94403-2_7
El disposicionalismo nomológico y sus problemas: redundancia, experimentalismo y modalidad nómica
Soto, C. (2022) · Revista de Humanidades de Valparaíso · doi:10.22370/rhv2022iss20pp251-270
Hicks, M. T., Jaag, S., & Loew, C. (2023) · doi:10.1093/oso/9780192893819.003.0001
Kappes, Y. (2023) · De Gruyter eBooks · doi:10.1515/9783111069500-010
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Lazarovici, D. (2023) · New directions in the philosophy of science · doi:10.1007/978-3-031-33448-1_5
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Azzano, L. (2024) · Synthese Library/Synthese library · doi:10.1007/978-3-031-52625-1_5
Azzano, L. (2024) · Synthese Library/Synthese library · doi:10.1007/978-3-031-52625-1_4
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The Consequence Argument and the Possibility of the Laws of Nature Being Violated
Merlussi, P. (2024) · Philosophia · doi:10.1007/s11406-024-00726-4
Necessities Overboard: A Reply to Lange
Bhogal, H. K. (2024) · The British Journal for the Philosophy of Science · doi:10.1086/730892
IMPLICAÇÕES DAS CONCEPÇÕES DO HUMANO E DA NATUREZA NAS POLÍTICAS AMBIENTAIS
de Carvalho, M. M. (2023) · INSTANTE · doi:10.29327/2194248.5.2-5
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Loewer, B. (2024) · doi:10.1093/oso/9780198907695.003.0006
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Loewer, B. (2024) · doi:10.1093/oso/9780198907695.003.0010
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Loewer, B. (2024) · doi:10.1093/oso/9780198907695.003.0008
Loewer, B. (2024) · doi:10.1093/oso/9780198907695.002.0002
Loewer, B. (2024) · doi:10.1093/oso/9780198907695.003.0004
Loewer, B. (2024) · doi:10.1093/oso/9780198907695.002.0006
Loewer, B. (2024) · doi:10.1093/oso/9780198907695.003.0001
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Loewer, B. (2024) · doi:10.1093/oso/9780198907695.003.0005
Loewer, B. (2024) · doi:10.1093/oso/9780198907695.003.0011
Loewer, B. (2024) · doi:10.1093/oso/9780198907695.002.0004
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Metaphysical Rationalism Requires Grounding Indeterminism
Pearce, K. L. (2025) · Journal of the American Philosophical Association · doi:10.1017/apa.2024.17 · Cited by 1
Laws of nature as results of a trade-off—Rethinking the Humean trade-off conception
Linnemann, N., & Michels, R. (2025) · The Philosophical Quarterly · doi:10.1093/pq/pqaf027
Wilsch, T. (2025) · doi:10.1093/9780198928492.001.0001
Wilsch, T. (2025) · doi:10.1093/9780198928492.003.0011
Governance of the Laws of Nature
Wilsch, T. (2025) · doi:10.1093/9780198928492.003.0007
Wilsch, T. (2025) · doi:10.1093/9780198928492.003.0013
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Wilsch, T. (2025) · doi:10.1093/9780198928492.003.0003
Are symmetry principles meta-laws?
Shi, S. Y. (2025) · Synthese · doi:10.1007/s11229-025-05064-w
The normative force of natural laws: Humean and non-Humean accounts of nomic normativity
Loew, C., Jaag, S., & Hicks, M. T. (2025) · Philosophical Studies · doi:10.1007/s11098-025-02344-6
Sacrificing strength in the best systems account
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A Positive Role for Negative Analogies
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How Mingled Representations Answer Why-Questions
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Reutlinger, A. (2026) · Episteme · doi:10.1017/epi.2026.10119
On the “Misconceptions of Mathematical Formalization” in Complex System Theories
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Metadata
- Authors
- Lange, M.
- Corresponding author
- Lange, Marc
- ORCID
- Lange, Marc
- Venue
- Oxford University Press eBooks
- Publisher
- Oxford University Press
- Published
- 2009-09-01
- OpenAlex
- W4300570223
- Cited by
- 257
- References
- 0
- Citations by year
- 2026: 5 · 2025: 22 · 2024: 28 · 2023: 14 · 2022: 17 · 2021: 31 · 2020: 33 · 2019: 28 · 2018: 6 · 2017: 7 · 2016: 11 · 2015: 8 · 2014: 6 · 2013: 20 · 2012: 9
- FWCI
- 15.87
- Type
- book
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Oxford University Press eBooks (publishedVersion)
- DIAL (Catholic University of Leuven) (submittedVersion)
- 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 › Philosophy and Theoretical Science
- Keywords
- laws of nature, metaphysics of law, necessity of law, science and law, philosophy of science, philosophy of law
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