- #1
madness
- 815
- 70
"Natural Laws" and their domain of validity
What is the philosophical justification for extending observed phenomena to "laws of nature". For example, Galileo dropped massive objects and saw that they fall at the same rate, but to then say that all massive objects fall at the same rate requires a leap of faith. Similarly, we used to believe that the laws of nature here on Earth had nothing to say about the workings of the heavens, but now we think differently.
Clearly we need to be careful not to overly generalise our observations outwith their range of validity. On the other hand, if we reject inductive reasoning altogether then we can't even accept the most limited laws of nature. It seems some kind of middle ground is necessary, presumably there is no clear demarcation here.
What is the philosophical justification for extending observed phenomena to "laws of nature". For example, Galileo dropped massive objects and saw that they fall at the same rate, but to then say that all massive objects fall at the same rate requires a leap of faith. Similarly, we used to believe that the laws of nature here on Earth had nothing to say about the workings of the heavens, but now we think differently.
Clearly we need to be careful not to overly generalise our observations outwith their range of validity. On the other hand, if we reject inductive reasoning altogether then we can't even accept the most limited laws of nature. It seems some kind of middle ground is necessary, presumably there is no clear demarcation here.