Physical law
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| - | The concept of the '''metaphysics of presence''' is an important consideration within the area of [[deconstruction]]. The deconstructive interpretation holds that the entire [[history of philosophy|history]] of Western [[philosophy]] and its language and traditions has emphasized the desire for [[immediate]] access to meaning, and thus built a [[metaphysics]] or [[ontotheology]] around the privileging of presence over absence. | ||
| - | Deconstructive thinkers, like [[Derrida]], describe their task as the questioning or ''deconstruction'' of this metaphysical tendency in philosophy. This argument is largely based on the earlier work of [[Martin Heidegger]], who in ''[[Being and Time]]'' claimed the parasitic nature of the theoretical attitude of pure presence upon a more originary involvement with the world in concepts such as the [[ready-to-hand]] and [[being-with]]. [[Friedrich Nietzsche]] is a more distant, but clear, influence as well. | + | A '''physical law''' or '''scientific law''' is a [[scientific]] generalization based on [[empiricism|empirical]] [[observation]]s of physical behavior (i.e. the '''law of nature'''). Laws of nature are observable. Scientific laws are empirical, describing the observable laws. Empirical laws are typically conclusions based on repeated [[Science|scientific]] [[experiment]]s and simple observations, over many years, and which have become accepted universally within the [[scientific community]]. The production of a summary description of our environment in the form of such laws is a fundamental aim of science. |
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| - | The presence to which Heidegger refers is both a presence as in a "now" and also a presence as in an eternal, always present, as one might associate with God or the "eternal" of [[Physical law|laws of science]]. In undermining such a [[hypostatized]] belief in presence, novel [[phenomenological]] ideas, such that presence itself not subsisting, but coming about, in a [[present-at-hand|primordial sense]], through the action of our futural projection, our realization of finitude and the reception or rejection of the traditions of our time. | + | |
| + | Laws of nature are distinct from [[religious law|religious]] and [[law|civil]] law, and should not be confused with the concept of [[natural law]]. | ||
| + | Nor should 'physical law' be confused with 'law of [[physics]]' - the term 'physical law' usually covers laws in other sciences (e.g. biology) as well. | ||
| == See also == | == See also == | ||
| - | * [[Jacques Derrida]] | + | |
| + | * [[Cartoon physics]] | ||
| + | * [[Philosophy of science]] | ||
| + | * [[Scientific method]] | ||
| + | * [[Inductive reasoning]] | ||
| + | * [[Physical constant]] | ||
| + | * [[Laws of science]] | ||
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A physical law or scientific law is a scientific generalization based on empirical observations of physical behavior (i.e. the law of nature). Laws of nature are observable. Scientific laws are empirical, describing the observable laws. Empirical laws are typically conclusions based on repeated scientific experiments and simple observations, over many years, and which have become accepted universally within the scientific community. The production of a summary description of our environment in the form of such laws is a fundamental aim of science.
Laws of nature are distinct from religious and civil law, and should not be confused with the concept of natural law. Nor should 'physical law' be confused with 'law of physics' - the term 'physical law' usually covers laws in other sciences (e.g. biology) as well.
See also
- Cartoon physics
- Philosophy of science
- Scientific method
- Inductive reasoning
- Physical constant
- Laws of science
