Dear all, Just a reminder that the Serious Metaphysics Group is meeting this evening at 5.30 - 7.00pm in the Faculty board room. Our speaker is Luke Fenton-Glynn (UCL) on "Ceteris Paribus Laws and Minutis Rectis Laws" (abstract attached below).
I hope to see you there! Best wishes, Matthew Simpson On 17-10-2013 09:24, M. Simpson wrote: > Dear all, > > Next week's meeting of the Serious Metaphysics Group will take place > on Wednesday, 23rd October, between 5.30 - 7.00pm in the Philosophy > Faculty board room. > > Our speaker is Luke Fenton-Glynn (UCL) on "Ceteris Paribus Laws and > Minutis Rectis Laws" (abstract below). > > I look forward to seeing many of you there. You can find out the > programme for the rest of the term by visiting the SMG website - > http://www2.phil.cam.ac.uk/news_events/metaphysics.html > > Best wishes, > > Matthew Simpson > > Luke Fenton-Glynn - Ceteris Paribus Laws and Minutis Rectis Laws. > > Special science generalizations admit of exceptions. There are, > moreover, prima facie difficulties in seeing how non-exceptionless > generalizations can support counterfactuals, entail objective chances, > underwrite predictions and relations of causation and explanation, and > play other aspects of the law role. > > In this talk, I distinguish two different types of non-exceptionless > 'law': namely ceteris paribus laws and minutis rectis laws. Roughly > speaking, ceteris paribus 'laws' are scientific generalizations that > hold in the absence of significant difference-making influence from > outside the systems that they seek to characterize. Minutis rectis > 'laws', by contrast, are scientific generalizations that hold only > when the properties that they relate are realized in the right > microphysical way. In the literature, the distinction between ceteris > paribus laws and minutis rectis laws is seldom properly drawn. > Yet it is an important distinction because the challenges involved in > showing how minutis rectis generalizations can play the law role are > quite different from those involved in showing how ceteris paribus > generalizations are able to do so. I outline some potential strategies > for seeking to meet those challenges. -- Matthew Simpson PhD Student in Philosophy University of Cambridge Mail: Robinson College, Cambridge, CB3 9AN _____________________________________________________ Sent by the CamPhilEvents mailing list. To unsubscribe or change your membership options, please visit the list information page: http://bit.ly/CamPhilEvents Posts are archived here: http://bit.ly/CamPhilEventsArchive
