Humean laws and explanation
Document Type
Journal article
Source Publication
Philosophical Studies
Publication Date
12-2015
Volume
172
Issue
12
First Page
3145
Last Page
3165
Publisher
Springer Netherlands
Keywords
Humeanism, Laws, Explanation, Grounding, Kit Fine, David Lewis
Abstract
A common objection to Humeanism about natural laws is that, given Humeanism, laws cannot help explain their instances, since, given the best Humean account of laws, facts about laws are explained by facts about their instances rather than vice versa. After rejecting a recent influential reply to this objection that appeals to the distinction between scientific and metaphysical explanation, I will argue that the objection fails by failing to distinguish between two types of facts, only one of which Humeans should regard as laws. I will then conclude by rebutting a variant of this objection that appeals to a principle of metaphysical explanation recently put forward by Kit Fine.
DOI
10.1007/s11098-015-0462-9
Print ISSN
00318116
E-ISSN
15730883
Publisher Statement
Copyright © Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2015. Access to external full text or publisher's version may require subscription.
Full-text Version
Publisher’s Version
Language
English
Recommended Citation
Marshall, D. (2015). Humean laws and explanation. Philosophical Studies, 172(12), 3145–3165. doi: 10.1007/s11098-015-0462-9