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26. Natural Theory / D. Laws of Nature / 5. Laws from Universals

[laws seen as necessary relations between universals]

13 ideas
In causal laws, 'events' must recur, so they have to be universals, not particulars [Russell]
Rather than take necessitation between universals as primitive, just make laws primitive [Maudlin on Armstrong]
Armstrong has an unclear notion of contingent necessitation, which can't necessitate anything [Bird on Armstrong]
The laws of nature link properties with properties [Armstrong]
Maybe laws of nature are just relations between properties? [Harré]
We might say laws are necessary by combining causal properties with Armstrong-Dretske-Tooley laws [Shoemaker]
Originally Humeans based lawlike statements on pure qualities, without particulars [Harré/Madden]
Individuals enter into laws only through their general qualities and relations [McMichael]
Laws of nature are necessary relations between universal properties, rather than about particulars [Mumford]
If laws can be uninstantiated, this favours the view of them as connecting universals [Mumford]
Laws cannot offer unified explanations if they don't involve universals [Bird]
If the universals for laws must be instantiated, a vanishing particular could destroy a law [Bird]
The view that laws are grounded in substance plus external necessity doesn't suit dispositionalism [Vetter]