Rethinking the Concept of Law of Nature: Natural Order in the Light of Contemporary Science (Jerusalem Studies in Philosophy and History of Science)

Introduction
Contents
Contributors
Ratbag Idealism
	References
Governing Without a Fundamental Direction of Time: Minimal Primitivism About Laws of Nature
	1 The Great Divide
	2 Some Existing Approaches
		2.1 Humean Reductionism
		2.2 Platonic Reductionism
		2.3 Aristotelian Reductionism
		2.4 Maudlinian Primitivism
	3 Minimal Primitivism (MinP)
		3.1 The View
		3.2 MinP and Explanation
		3.3 Examples and Further Clarifications
			3.3.1 Dynamical Laws
			3.3.2 Non-dynamical Constraint Laws
			3.3.3 Probabilistic Laws
	4 Comparisons
		4.1 Comparison with Humean Reductionism
		4.2 Comparison with Platonic Reductionism
		4.3 Comparison with Aristotelian Reductionism
		4.4 Comparison with Maudlinian Primitivism
	5 Conclusion
	References
How to Make the World Safe for Autonomy; or, How to Fodor-Kitcher an Albert-Loewer
	1 Introduction
	2 The Albert/Loewer Picture and Its Account of Special-Science Laws
	3 How a Tweak to the Albert/Loewer Picture Yields Special-Science Autonomy
	4 Objection and Reply: Counterlegals in Scientific Reasoning
	5 Arbuthnot Revisited
	References
Is the Mentaculus the Best System of Our World?
	1 The Mentaculus
	2 Flat Physicalism
		2.1 Microstates: Fundamental Physics
		2.2 Aspects: Macrovariables and Macrostates
		2.3 Probability in Flat Physicalism vs. The Mentaculus
		2.4 The Past Hypothesis in Flat Physicalism
		2.5 Special Sciences: A Reductive Account
		2.6 Mental Kinds
	3 The Metaphysical Framework: The Mentaculus and the Humean Base
	4 The Mentaculus and the Special Sciences
		4.1 Loewer\'s View
		4.2 Albert\'s View
	5 Conclusion
	References
How to Make Possibility Safe for Empiricists
	1 Introduction
	2 Logical Possibility
	3 Requirements for an Empiricist Account of Possibility
	4 Empirical Possibility
	5 The Modest Semantics of Empirical Possibility
	6 Properties of Empirical Possibility
	7 Failure of the Duality of Possibility and Necessity
	8 Failure of Possible World Semantics
	9 And Nothing More
	10 Empirical Possibility Is Not Epistemic Possibility
		10.1 Dependence on Beliefs and Knowledge of Agents
		10.2 Dependence on Ignorance
	11 Nomic Possibility
	12 Metaphysical Possibility
		12.1 The Grand Promise
		12.2 Empirical Metaphysics
		12.3 Non-empirical Metaphysics
		12.4 Fatal Abstraction
	13 Conclusion: How Did This Happen?
	References
Laws of Nature as Epistemic Infrastructure Not Metaphysical Superstructure
	1 Introduction
	2 What Is a Law of Nature?
	3 Laws as Inference Tickets
	4 Laws Extend Our Knowledge
	5 Laws Guide Theoretical Modeling
	6 Laws Align Individual Actions
	7 Are Laws True?
	8 Laws and Naturalistic Metaphysics
	9 Conclusion
	References
The Babylonian Conception and Conventionalism About Lawsin Physics
	1 Introduction
	2 The Metaphysics of Laws
	3 The `Babylonian\' Conception of Laws
	4 The Babylonian Conception and Philosophical Accounts of Laws
	5 Dynamics, Kinematics, and Initial Conditions
	6 The Distinction Between Laws and Initial Conditions and Philosophical Accounts of Laws
	7 Conclusion
	References
What\'s so Special About Initial Conditions? Understanding the Past Hypothesis in Directionless Time
	1 Introduction
	2 Explaining the Arrow of Time
		2.1 The Time Asymmetry of Thermodynamics
		2.2 Boltzmannian Statistical Mechanics
		2.3 What Is the Past Hypothesis?
	3 Directionless Time: Understanding the C-Theory
	4 Initialness and the Past Hypothesis
		4.1 Maudlin\'s Initialness Defence
		4.2 Price\'s Rejection of the Initialness Defence
	5 Deflating the Initialness Defence
		5.1 Reunderstanding the C-Theory
		5.2 Initialness, Deflated
	6 Summing up
	References
Remarks About the Relationship Between Relational Physics and a Large Kantian Component of the Laws of Nature
	1 Relational Physics
		1.1 Relational Space
		1.2 Relational Time
		1.3 Relational versus Relativistic
		1.4 Relational Space, Relational Time, and Gauge Freedom
		1.5 Why Go Relational?
	2 Quantum Mechanics
		2.1 Bohmian Mechanics
		2.2 OOEOW
		2.3 The Implications of Bohmian Mechanics
			2.3.1 The Conditional Wave Function
			2.3.2 The Conditional Probability Formula
		2.4 Bohmian Motion on a Riemannian Manifold
	3 Quantum Puzzles
		3.1 The Wave Function of the Universe and Entropy
		3.2 Nonnormalizability of the Wave Function of the Universe
		3.3 Why vs. What
	4 Wave Function as Law
		4.1 ψ vs.
		4.2 A Kantian Component of Laws of Nature
	5 Relational Quantum Mechanics
		5.1 Shape Space as the Fundamental Configuration Space
			5.1.1 Shape Space
			5.1.2 Metrics on Shape Space and Best Matching
			5.1.3 Invariant Metrics on Absolute Configuration Space
			5.1.4 Conformal Factors
		5.2 Free Motion on Shape Space
		5.3 Fundamental Level vs. ``Human\'\' Level
		5.4 Emergence of Interactions
	6 Sources of Gauge Freedom
		6.1 Classical Gauges
			6.1.1 The Newton Gauge
			6.1.2 The Expansion Gauge
			6.1.3 A Note on Newtonian Gravitation
		6.2 Quantum Gauges
			6.2.1 Three Quantum Gauges
			6.2.2 The Schrödinger Gauge
	7 Lessons from Relational Physics
		7.1 Local Beables and Primitive Ontology
		7.2 Projectivity
		7.3 Non-normalizability of the Wave Function
		7.4 Conditional Wave Function and Path Space
			7.4.1 The Conditional Wave Function
			7.4.2 The Conditional Probability Formula
			7.4.3 Non-normalizable Measures
			7.4.4 The Physics of Sub-systems
			7.4.5 |ψ|2 vs. ||2
		7.5 More Relational Points
			7.5.1 Identical Particles
			7.5.2 Different Ontologies
			7.5.3 Geometry
			7.5.4 Larger Groups
		7.6 The Quantum Gauge?
	References
On Two Slights to Noether\'s First Theorem: Mental Causation and General Relativity
	1 Introduction
	2 Conservation and Symmetry: The Modern View
	3 Noether\'s First Theorem and General Relativity: Another Slight
		3.1 Giving Up Energy-Momentum Conservation?
		3.2 Why Gravitational Energy Might Be Localized After All
	4 GR, Energy Conservation, and the Philosophy of Mind
	5 Conclusion
	References
How John Wheeler Lost His Faith in the Law
	1 Transcending Conservation Laws
	2 The Rise and Fall of Geometrodynamics Revisited
	3 Wheeler\'s Cosmology
	4 Creating the Observer
	5 Conclusions
	References
Lawlessness
	1 Introduction
	2 Feynman\'s Derivation of the Principle of Least Action
	3 Laws and Descriptions
	4 Lawlessness in a Deterministic World
	References
Revaluing Laws of Nature in Secularized Science
	1 Introduction
	2 Laws of Nature Beyond the `Death of God\'
	3 Intellectualist and Voluntarist Theology at the Rise of Modern Science
	4 Ecocentric Rationalism: Valuing Nature-As-Intelligible
	5 Anthropocentric Rationalism: Valuing Human Intellect
	6 Anthropocentric Dynamism: Valuing Human Power
	7 Ecocentric Dynamism: Valuing Impersonal Power
	References
Index