Cecily Zamora
The concept of laws in science is a topic that has been widely discussed in philosophy. Scientific laws are statements that describe or predict a range of natural phenomena, often formulated as mathematical equations. They are based on repeated experiments or observations and are developed from empirical evidence. While laws are constantly being tested experimentally, it is challenging to disprove a law in the absolute sense. This is because laws are inherently limited in scope and applicability to the circumstances under which they were observed. They are also subject to change and evolution as new evidence and theories emerge. Furthermore, the scientific method itself is based on the idea that all scientific laws must be disprovable, allowing for the continuous improvement of our understanding of the world.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Scientific laws | Are statements based on repeated experiments or observations |
| Are neither facts nor theories | |
| Are not explanations of phenomena | |
| Are distillations of the results of repeated observations | |
| Are constantly being tested experimentally to increasing degrees of precision | |
| Are not proven but are failed to be disproven | |
| Are always probable and never certain | |
| Are not always right | |
| Are disprovable | |
| Are discovered, not invented | |
| Are contingent |
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What You'll Learn
Laws are not facts
The term "scientific law" is traditionally associated with the natural sciences, but the social sciences also contain laws. Laws are not facts, and they differ from scientific theories and hypotheses in that they do not explain the mechanism or underlying causes of phenomena. They are generalized observations about the relationship between two or more things in the natural world, based on a variety of facts and empirical evidence, often framed as a mathematical statement. For example, "Apples fall down from this apple tree" is considered a fact because it is a simple statement that can be proven. On the other hand, "The strength of gravity between any two objects depends on the masses of the objects and the distance between them" is a law because it describes the behaviour of two objects in certain circumstances. If the circumstance changes, the implications of the law would also change.
Laws are developed from data and can be further developed through mathematics. They are discovered rather than invented and are implicit rather than explicit in their reflection of causal relationships. They are constantly being tested experimentally to increasing degrees of precision, which is one of the main goals of science. The fact that laws have never been observed to be violated does not preclude testing them at increased accuracy or in new kinds of conditions to confirm whether they continue to hold true.
In the context of a common law legal system, a question of fact, or point of fact, is a question that must be answered by referring to facts, evidence, and inferences arising from those facts. A question of law, on the other hand, must be answered by applying relevant legal principles. The distinction between law and fact is a philosophical debate that continues to this day, with philosophers unable to agree on the difference between "empirical" and "analytical" statements.
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Laws are based on repeated experiments or observations
The term "scientific law" is traditionally associated with the natural sciences, although the social sciences also contain laws. Laws are based on repeated experiments or observations that describe or predict a range of natural phenomena. They are developed from data and can be further developed through mathematics; in all cases, they are directly or indirectly based on empirical evidence.
Laws are constantly being tested experimentally to increasing degrees of precision, which is one of the main goals of science. The fact that laws have never been observed to be violated does not preclude testing them at increased accuracy or in new kinds of conditions to confirm whether they continue to hold. It is always possible for laws to be invalidated or proven to have limitations by repeatable experimental evidence, should any be observed.
Well-established laws have indeed been invalidated in some special cases, but the new formulations created to explain the discrepancies generalize upon, rather than overthrow, the originals. For example, Newtonian mechanics is the small-velocity limit of special relativity, and the small-hbar limit of quantum mechanics. The full quantum and relativistic completion of them is quantum field theory, which we see through these two different kinds of simplifying limits.
Laws differ from scientific theories in that they do not posit a mechanism or explanation of phenomena; they are merely distillations of the results of repeated observation. As such, the applicability of a law is limited to circumstances resembling those already observed, and the law may be found to be false when extrapolated. For example, Ohm's law only applies to linear networks; Newton's law of universal gravitation only applies in weak gravitational fields; the early laws of aerodynamics, such as Bernoulli's principle, do not apply in the case of compressible flow such as occurs in transonic and supersonic flight. These laws remain useful, but only under the specified conditions where they apply.
Many laws take mathematical forms, and thus can be stated as an equation. For example, Newton's Law of Universal Gravitation can be written as an equation where Fg is the force of gravity, G is the universal gravitational constant, m1 and m2 are the masses of the two objects, and d is the distance between them.
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Laws are constantly tested
The term "scientific law" is traditionally associated with the natural sciences, though the social sciences also contain laws. Laws are developed from data and can be further developed through mathematics; in all cases, they are directly or indirectly based on empirical evidence. Laws are constantly being tested experimentally to increasing degrees of precision, which is one of the main goals of science. The fact that laws have never been observed to be violated does not preclude testing them at increased accuracy or in new kinds of conditions to confirm whether they continue to hold, or whether they break, and what can be discovered in the process. It is always possible for laws to be invalidated or proven to have limitations, by repeatable experimental evidence, should any be observed.
Well-established laws have indeed been invalidated in some special cases, but the new formulations created to explain the discrepancies generalize upon, rather than overthrow, the originals. That is, the invalidated laws have been found to be only close approximations, to which other terms or factors must be added to cover previously unaccounted-for conditions. For example, Newtonian mechanics is the small-velocity limit of special relativity, and the small-hbar limit of quantum mechanics. The full quantum and relativistic completion of them is quantum field theory, which we see through these two different kinds of simplifying limits.
Laws differ from scientific theories in that they do not posit a mechanism or explanation of phenomena; they are merely distillations of the results of repeated observation. As such, the applicability of a law is limited to circumstances resembling those already observed, and the law may be found to be false when extrapolated. Ohm's law only applies to linear networks; Newton's law of universal gravitation only applies in weak gravitational fields; the early laws of aerodynamics, such as Bernoulli's principle, do not apply in the case of compressible flow such as occurs in transonic and supersonic flight. These laws remain useful, but only under the specified conditions where they apply.
Many people consider a law to be the unchanging true nature of reality, but this is not necessarily the case. A basic principle in science is that any law, theory, or otherwise can be disproven if new facts or evidence are presented. If it cannot be somehow disproven by an experiment, then it is not scientific. Take, for example, the Universal Law of Gravitation. This “law” describes the motion of heavenly bodies and how we stay firmly planted on the ground. But this “law” is in fact not always right – it just captures what we usually observe. In this case, we are ultimately referring to the “theory” of gravity – a theory supported by a huge body of evidence, but still just a theory.
Humanity assumed for millennia that the Earth was flat. We were wrong. We held for millennia that time was absolute, not relative. We were wrong. It’s always possible we will encounter new data that contradicts existing theories, no matter how widely held, no matter how cherished. Science is contingent; that’s the price at the door.
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Laws are generalised observations
The term "scientific law" is traditionally associated with the natural sciences, although the social sciences also contain laws. Laws are generalised observations about the relationship between two or more things in the natural world, based on a variety of facts and empirical evidence. They are often framed as mathematical statements or equations. For example, Newton's Law of Universal Gravitation can be written as an equation, where Fg is the force of gravity, G is the universal gravitational constant, m1 and m2 are the masses of the two objects, and d is the distance between them.
Laws differ from scientific theories in that they do not explain phenomena or the underlying mechanisms. They are distillations of the results of repeated observations. For instance, Mendel's Law of Independent Assortment describes how different traits are passed from parent to offspring, but not how or why it happens. The applicability of a law is limited to circumstances resembling those already observed, and the law may be found to be false when extrapolated.
Laws are constantly being tested experimentally to increasing degrees of precision, which is one of the main goals of science. It is always possible for laws to be invalidated or proven to have limitations by repeatable experimental evidence. However, well-established laws that have been invalidated in some special cases have resulted in new formulations that generalize upon, rather than overthrow, the originals.
In science, any law or theory can be disproven if new facts or evidence are presented. If it cannot be disproven by an experiment, then it is not scientific. For example, the Universal Law of Gravitation describes the motion of heavenly bodies and how we stay firmly planted on the ground, but this "law" is not always right – it just captures what we usually observe. In this case, we are referring to the "theory" of gravity, which is supported by a huge body of evidence but is still just a theory.
It is important to note that proof does not exist in science. Proof belongs to the domain of logic and mathematics, where there can be no question of the accuracy of a given abstraction. In science, theories are held contingently, and it is always possible to encounter new data that contradicts existing theories, no matter how widely held or cherished.
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Laws are not explanations or mechanisms
The term "scientific law" is traditionally associated with the natural sciences, though the social sciences also contain laws. Laws are not explanations or mechanisms, but rather generalized observations about a relationship between two or more things in the natural world based on a variety of facts and empirical evidence. They are developed from data and can be further developed through mathematics.
For example, Newton's Law of Universal Gravitation states that the force of gravity between two objects depends on the masses of the objects and the distance between them. However, it does not explain how gravity works or what it is. Mendel's Law of Independent Assortment describes how different traits are passed from parent to offspring, but it does not explain how or why this happens.
Laws differ from scientific theories in that they do not posit a mechanism or explanation of phenomena. They are simply distillations of the results of repeated observations. As such, the applicability of a law is limited to circumstances resembling those already observed, and the law may be found to be false when extrapolated. For example, Ohm's Law only applies to linear networks, and Newton's Law of Universal Gravitation only applies in weak gravitational fields.
While laws are constantly being tested experimentally to increasing degrees of precision, one of the main goals of science is to invalidate or prove the limitations of laws through repeatable experimental evidence. It is always possible to encounter new data that contradicts existing theories, no matter how widely held or cherished. In science, a hypothesis must be capable of being disproved, and a law can be falsified by showing one circumstance in which it does not hold.
In conclusion, laws are not explanations or mechanisms, but rather generalized observations based on empirical evidence. They are constantly being tested and can be invalidated or proven to have limitations through experimental evidence.
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Frequently asked questions
Laws can be disproved. A basic principle in science is that any law or theory can be disproven if new facts or evidence are presented. If it cannot be disproven by an experiment, then it is not scientific.
Laws are developed from data and can be further developed through mathematics. They are based on repeated experiments or observations and describe or predict a range of natural phenomena. Theories, on the other hand, posit a mechanism or explanation of phenomena.
Well-established laws have been invalidated in some special cases. For example, Newton's Law of Universal Gravitation only applies in weak gravitational fields. This law was generalized to include the old law as a limit when quantum field theory was developed.
