Laws and Theories

Science as it could have been: discussing the contingency/inevitability problem

“…In any case, the prominence of natural laws and nomological necessity in many conceptions of science strongly suggests that any serious consideration of the topic of contingency cannot avoid addressing laws and necessity. Moreover, Marc Lange's (2000Lange's ( , 2007Lange's ( , 2009 recent work now provides a more adequate and relevant conception of laws and nomological necessity. 2 The second part of the chapter thus considers whether and how Lange's approach might reconfigure the contingency issue.…”

“…10 I was once among the skeptics. Marc Lange's (2000Lange's ( , 2007Lange's ( , 2009 revisionist account of the role of laws in scientific practice nevertheless should lead us to revisit the issue; Lange's work also enables reformulation of the contingency question in some newly illuminating ways.…”

“…14. Lange (2000Lange ( , 2007 often talks about the "interests" or "purposes" of a given discipline or inquiry. Yet we should not mistake such talk as indicating a dependence on what some community is interested in de facto.…”