The Simplicity of Physical Laws
Fuente:
arXiv
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| Autore principale: | |
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| Natura: | Preprint |
| Pubblicazione: |
2022
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| _version_ | 1866915108136943616 |
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| author | Chen, Eddy Keming |
| author_facet | Chen, Eddy Keming |
| contents | Physical laws are strikingly simple, yet there is no a priori reason for them to be so. I propose that nomic realists -- Humeans and non-Humeans -- should recognize simplicity as a fundamental epistemic guide for discovering and evaluating candidate physical laws. This proposal helps resolve several longstanding problems of nomic realism and simplicity. A key consequence is that the presumed epistemic advantage of Humeanism over non-Humeanism dissolves, undermining a prominent epistemological argument for Humeanism. Moreover, simplicity is shown to be more connected to lawhood than to mere truth. |
| format | Preprint |
| id |
arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2210_08143 |
| institution | arXiv |
| publishDate | 2022 |
| record_format | arxiv |
| spellingShingle | The Simplicity of Physical Laws Chen, Eddy Keming History and Philosophy of Physics Physical laws are strikingly simple, yet there is no a priori reason for them to be so. I propose that nomic realists -- Humeans and non-Humeans -- should recognize simplicity as a fundamental epistemic guide for discovering and evaluating candidate physical laws. This proposal helps resolve several longstanding problems of nomic realism and simplicity. A key consequence is that the presumed epistemic advantage of Humeanism over non-Humeanism dissolves, undermining a prominent epistemological argument for Humeanism. Moreover, simplicity is shown to be more connected to lawhood than to mere truth. |
| title | The Simplicity of Physical Laws |
| topic | History and Philosophy of Physics |
| url | https://arxiv.org/abs/2210.08143 |