Marc Lange – Uncommon Descent

What makes a law of nature a “law,” exactly?

Philosopher Marc Lange: Laws of nature can explain why something failed to happen by revealing that it cannot happen – that it is impossible. If so, there can’t really be “laws” of evolution unless we can show that no other outcome is possible.

Origenes Seversky @27 1. The physical sciences are the touchstone of reality. I’d say it’s a question of “so far, so... – L&FP, 64: The challenge of self-referentiality...
Seversky Origenes/15 1. The physical sciences are the touchstone of reality. I'd say it's a question of "so far, so good."... – L&FP, 64: The challenge of self-referentiality...
Origenes Let us stop pretending that 'naturalism' is a worldview/philosophy. It is an enumeration of sciency stuff without internal coherence, axioms... – L&FP, 64: The challenge of self-referentiality...
martin_r CD, here you go, from a mainstream paper, ScienceDaily (2018) Loss of eye tissue in blind cavefish (Astyanax mexicanus), which... – Century of bird evolution knowledge overturned?
Seversky Origenes/17 “we present teleology brought to you by purely blind natural processes!” I think the word you're looking for is... – L&FP, 64: The challenge of self-referentiality...
PyrrhoManiac1 @15 Naturalism, according to Slagle: 1. The physical sciences are the touchstone of reality. 2. Causal closure of the physical.... – L&FP, 64: The challenge of self-referentiality...
PyrrhoManiac1 @291 I am pointing out something fairly obvious, that one who speaks with disregard to truth, disregards first principles of... – Is the Galton Board evidence for...
Seversky If consciousness and thoughts die when the physical brain dies then naturalism/physicalism/materialism are the better explanation. There is no supernatural,... – L&FP, 64: The challenge of self-referentiality...
asauber "WHEN YOU PEOPLE WILL FINALLY GET IT ????" They will do anything except acknowledge what exists. Andrew – Century of bird evolution knowledge overturned?
bornagain77 As well, Kevin Moran, an optical engineer who has studied the Shroud of Turin, describes the Shroud Image in this... – Is the Galton Board evidence for...
bornagain77 Various attempts have been made to find a mathematical workaround for this ‘infinite mathematical divide’ that exists between General Relativity... – Is the Galton Board evidence for...
bornagain77 EDTA per VJT: ”Does it even make sense to say that one and the same person has two distinct minds... – Is the Galton Board evidence for...
Origenes The Creation Problem. Let’s zoom out totally and go back in time a bit. Let’s go back to a time... – Aquinas, Ockham, and Descartes about God....
Sandy If one thought exists then naturalism is impossible. Is that simple. – L&FP, 64: The challenge of self-referentiality...
Origenes StephenB Ori: Do you agree with the following formulation (feel free to make improvements): Man alone is the cause of... – Aquinas, Ockham, and Descartes about God....
StephenB Origenes: ---“Do you agree with the following formulation (feel free to make improvements):” Man alone is the cause of his... – Aquinas, Ockham, and Descartes about God....
martin_r CD, Your sightless cave fish example is odd because it illustrates my point re natural selection. Every organ system requires... – Century of bird evolution knowledge overturned?
tangent EDTA, Why not post your comment over at TSZ, where VJT and others can respond to it? – Is the Galton Board evidence for...
EDTA At first glance, I'm a little bit surprised at VJT here. He is making a common mistake (made here also... – Is the Galton Board evidence for...
Querius Fasteddious @6, Thanks for pointing this out. I was pretty surprised when I first learned the putative ~1% difference between... – Human DNA evolution as a “balancing...
Querius Chuckdarwin @53, Now you are simply being obtuse and gratuitously satirical. Your resorting to an ad hominem attack means I’ve... – Century of bird evolution knowledge overturned?