The simplicity of physical laws

Noûs Pub Date : 2025-01-18 DOI:10.1111/nous.12542
Eddy Keming Chen
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Abstract

Physical laws are strikingly simple, yet there is no a priori reason for them to be so. I propose that nomic realists—Humeans and non‐Humeans—should recognize simplicity as a fundamental epistemic guide for discovering and evaluating candidate physical laws. This proposal helps resolve several longstanding problems of nomic realism and simplicity. A key consequence is that the presumed epistemic advantage of Humeanism over non‐Humeanism dissolves, undermining a prominent epistemological argument for Humeanism. Moreover, simplicity is shown to be more connected to lawhood than to mere truth.
物理定律的简单性
物理定律非常简单,但没有先验的理由证明它们是如此。我建议经济学现实主义者——休谟主义者和非休谟主义者——应该认识到简单性是发现和评估候选物理定律的基本认知指南。这一提议有助于解决几个长期存在的经济现实主义和简单性问题。一个关键的结果是,假定的人道主义优于非人道主义的认识论优势消失了,破坏了人道主义的一个突出的认识论论点。此外,简单被证明更多地与法律联系在一起,而不是纯粹的真理。
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