| Description |
1 online resource (261 pages) |
| Contents |
Intro -- Title page -- Copyright page -- Contents -- Preface -- Notes on Contributors -- Introduction: Humeanism and the Pragmatic Turn -- 1. Humean Laws of Nature: The End of the Good Old Days -- 1.1 The Best Systems Theory of Laws of Nature -- 1.2 The Problem of Alien Laws -- 1.3 Meta-ethical Interlude 1 -- 1.4 Ideal Advisor Theory -- 1.5 Meta-ethical Interlude 2 -- 1.6 Nomic Projectivism -- 1.7 Leapfrogging to Creepiness -- 1.8 The New Landscape -- 1.9 Laws as Negotiated Settlements -- 2. Humean Disillusion -- 2.1 Introduction: the Case for Humeanism -- 2.2 Disillusion -- 2.3 The Undermining Problem -- 2.4 Ignorance about Chances -- 2.5 The New Problem -- 2.6 A Humean Response -- 2.7 What's the Alternative? -- 2.8 Conclusion -- 3. Knowing the Powers -- 3.1 Introduction -- 3.2 The Access Problem -- 3.3 Permutations -- 3.4 Deep Knowledge and Shallow Knowledge -- 3.5 Humean Knowledge -- 3.6 Ontology and Ideology -- 3.7 Generalizing -- 3.8 Propensities -- 3.9 Resiliency -- 3.10 Conclusion -- 4. Naturalism, Functionalism, and Chance: Not a Best Fit for the Humean -- 4.1 Introduction -- 4.2 The Humean's Claimed Advantages -- 4.3 Humean Justifications -- 4.4 The Undercutting Argument -- 4.5 Revising Science -- 4.6 The Deeper Tension -- 4.7 Science Justifies Science -- 4.8 Conclusion -- 5. Generalizing the Problem of Humean Undermining -- 5.1 Introduction -- 5.2 Humean Supervenience -- 5.3 Local Dependence on the Global Mosaic -- 5.4 Counterfactuals -- 5.5 Mentaculus -- 5.6 Undermining Generalized -- 5.7 How to Identify Non-Fundamental Things -- 5.8 What a Humean Solution Might Be -- 6. Are Humean Laws Flukes? -- 7. The Package Deal Account of Naturalness -- 7.1 Introduction -- 7.2 The Role of Naturalness in the BSA -- 7.3 Developing the PDA: Role (3) and the Predicate F Problem -- 7.4 Developing the PDA: Role (2) and the Language of the Data |
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7.5 Ideal Scientists -- 7.6 Role (1) and the Metaphysical Underpinnings of the PDA -- 7.7 Conclusion -- 8. Properties for and of Better Best Systems -- 8.1 Introduction -- 8.2 The Starting Points for Better Best Systems -- 8.3 Objectivity -- 8.4 Which Predicates, Which Properties? -- 8.5 Demarcation -- 8.6 Unity, Hierarchy, and Cross-Discipline Inter-System Frictions -- 8.7 Diachronic Trouble: Scientific Progress -- 8.8 Conclusion -- 9. Predictive Infelicities and the Instability of Predictive Optimality -- 9.1 Introduction -- 9.2 Neo-Humeanism -- 9.3 Predictive Infelicities -- 9.4 Strategies for the Neo-Humean -- 9.5 Can We Change the Laws? -- 9.6 The Rigidification Strategy -- 9.7 Conclusion -- 10. Best-System Laws, Explanation, and Unification -- 10.1 -- 10.2 -- 10.3 -- 10.4 -- 11. A Discourse on Methods -- or, Humean Metaphysics of Science without Best Systems -- 11.1 Introduction -- 11.2 Stage One: Counterfactuals -- 11.3 Stage Two: Laws of Nature -- 11.4 Stage Three: Effectiveness for Humeans -- 11.5 In Closing: Ratbag Idealist Judo, Revisited -- 12. Humean Reductionism about Essence -- 12.1 Introduction -- 12.2 Preliminaries: Essence of Kinds vs. Essences of Individuals -- 12.3 Metaphysical vs. Epistemic Approaches -- 12.4 Case Study: Laws of Nature -- 12.5 Possibilities for a Broadly Humean Approach to 'Essence' -- 12.6 Upshots and Unfinished Business -- Index |
| Summary |
"A central question in the philosophy of science is: What is a law of nature? Different answers to this question define an important schism: Humeans, in the wake of David Hume, hold that the laws of nature are nothing over and above what actually happens and reject irreducible facts about natural modality (Lewis, 1983, 1994; cf. Miller, 2015). According to Non-Humeans, by contrast, the laws are metaphysically fundamental (Maudlin, 2007) or grounded in primitive modal structures, such as dispositional essences of powerful properties (Bird, 2007), necessitation relations (Armstrong, 1983), or primitive subjunctive facts (Lange, 2009). This volume focuses on recent developments in the discussion of Humeanism, specifically on pragmatic versions of the view that put the needs of limited agents like us front and center"-- Provided by publisher |
| Bibliography |
Includes bibliographical references and index |
| Notes |
Description based on online resource; title from home page (Oxford Academic, viewed November 13, 2024) |
| Subject |
Hume, David, 1711-1776.
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Hume, David, 1711-1776 |
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Physical laws -- Philosophy
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Epistemology.
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PHILOSOPHY.
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Metaphysics.
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SCIENCE.
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Philosophy: metaphysics & ontology.
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Philosophy.
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| Form |
Electronic book
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| Author |
Hicks, Michael Townsen, 1985- editor.
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Jaag, Siegfried, editor.
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Loew, Christian, editor.
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| ISBN |
9780192645999 |
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0192645994 |
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9780192645982 |
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0192645986 |
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9780192645999 |
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9780191914768 |
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0191914762 |
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