Laws and Symmetry (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9780198248606)

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.

Author: Bas C. Van Fraassen
ISBN-10: 0198248601
ISBN-13: 9780198248606
Publisher: Clarendon Press
Language: English
Published: 01/04/1990
Pages: 410
Format: Paperback
Weight: 1.20lbs
Size: 8.48h x 5.50w x 0.97d