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Thisbook isnotatextbook tobecomeacquainted with thelaws ofnature. An elementaryknowledgeaboutlawsofnature,inparticularthelawsofphysics,is presupposed. Thebookisratherintendedtoprovideaclari?cationofconcepts and properties of the laws of nature. The authors would like to emphasise that this book has been developed - created - as a real teamwork. Although the chapters (and in some cases parts of the chapters) were originally written by one of the two authors, all of them were discussed thoroughly and in detail and have been revised and complemented afterwards. Even if both authors were in agreement on most of the foundational issues discussed in the book, they did not feel it necessary to balance every viewpoint. Thus some individual and personal di?erence or emphasis will still be recognisable from the chapters written by the di?erent authors. In this sense the authors feel speci?cally responsible for the chapters as follows: Mittelstaedt for Chaps. 4, 9. 3, 10, 11. 2, 12, 13 and Weingartner for Chaps. 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 8. 2, 9. 2, 9. 4. The remaining parts are joint sections. Most of the chapters are formulated as questions and they begin with arguments pro and contra. Then a detailed answer is proposed which contains a systematic discussion of the question. This is the respective main part of the chapter. It sometimes begins with a survey of the problem by giving some important answers to it from history (cf. Chaps. 6 and 9).
List of contents
What is a Law of Nature?.- Are there Laws of Nature at All?.- Can the Laws of Nature be Genuine Laws?.- Are the Laws of Logic Laws of Nature?.- Are the Laws of Mathematics Laws of Nature?.- Properties of Laws.- Does Every Law of Nature Express an Invariance (Symmetry)?.- Is Every Law of Nature Spacetime Invariant?.- Dynamical and Statistical Laws.- Laws, Boundary Conditions, and Constants of Nature.- Causality and Predictability.- Laws and Objects.- Completeness and Reliability.- Why are Laws of Nature Valid?.- Statistical Laws.- Quantum Logic.
Summary
Thisbook isnotatextbook tobecomeacquainted with thelaws ofnature. An elementaryknowledgeaboutlawsofnature,inparticularthelawsofphysics,is presupposed. Thebookisratherintendedtoprovideaclari?cationofconcepts and properties of the laws of nature. The authors would like to emphasise that this book has been developed – created – as a real teamwork. Although the chapters (and in some cases parts of the chapters) were originally written by one of the two authors, all of them were discussed thoroughly and in detail and have been revised and complemented afterwards. Even if both authors were in agreement on most of the foundational issues discussed in the book, they did not feel it necessary to balance every viewpoint. Thus some individual and personal di?erence or emphasis will still be recognisable from the chapters written by the di?erent authors. In this sense the authors feel speci?cally responsible for the chapters as follows: Mittelstaedt for Chaps. 4, 9. 3, 10, 11. 2, 12, 13 and Weingartner for Chaps. 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 8. 2, 9. 2, 9. 4. The remaining parts are joint sections. Most of the chapters are formulated as questions and they begin with arguments pro and contra. Then a detailed answer is proposed which contains a systematic discussion of the question. This is the respective main part of the chapter. It sometimes begins with a survey of the problem by giving some important answers to it from history (cf. Chaps. 6 and 9).
Additional text
Aus den Rezensionen:
"… Der Physiker Peter Mittelstaedt … und der Philosoph Paul Weingartner … haben sich zusammengetan, um in einer exzellent strukturierten, detaillierten Übersicht zu klären, was Naturgesetze sind … Die … Kapitel beginnen mit einer interessanten Fragestellung … Historische Aspekte … werden … beispielhaft immer wieder herangezogen. Die Fülle der Themen lässt sich hier nicht angemessen aufzählen, daher nur ein paar Leckerbissen ..."
(Rüdiger Vaas, in: Naturwissenschaftliche Rundschau,2006, Vol. 59, Issue 10, S. 571 f.)
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Aus den Rezensionen:
"... Der Physiker Peter Mittelstaedt ... und der Philosoph Paul Weingartner ... haben sich zusammengetan, um in einer exzellent strukturierten, detaillierten Übersicht zu klären, was Naturgesetze sind ... Die ... Kapitel beginnen mit einer interessanten Fragestellung ... Historische Aspekte ... werden ... beispielhaft immer wieder herangezogen. Die Fülle der Themen lässt sich hier nicht angemessen aufzählen, daher nur ein paar Leckerbissen ..."
(Rüdiger Vaas, in: Naturwissenschaftliche Rundschau,2006, Vol. 59, Issue 10, S. 571 f.)
