Re: [Fis] Post-concluding remarks:Realism/anturealism: Laws of nature?

Re: [Fis] Post-concluding remarks:Realism/anturealism: Laws of nature?

From: Guy A Hoelzer <[email protected]>
Date: Thu 26 Oct 2006 - 20:01:58 CEST

Hi Bob,

I doubt we disagree in substance here, but I would take issue with the
statement that "there are no laws for biology in the same sense as the laws
of physics", because I think the laws of physics apply in all realms. In
other words, the laws of physics are not limited to physics in an
exclusionary way, because all other disciplines exist within the bounds of
physics. Therefore, the laws of physics are also laws of biology to me.
After picking this nit, I would agree that there are no additional,
proprietary laws of this sort within biology that do not extend to
non-biological physical systems.

Cheers,

Guy Hoelzer

on 10/26/06 7:16 AM, Robert Ulanowicz at ulan@cbl.umces.edu wrote:

> On Thu, 26 Oct 2006, Andrei Khrennikov wrote:
>
>> If we follow the line of Arne of realism/antirealism, then what should
>> we say about LAWS OF NATURE? I think that we would come to the
>> conclusion that there is no such laws at all. Such a conclusion is not
>> astonishing in the light of modern views to QM. Since QM (by the
>> conventional Copenhagen interpretation) declared the death of
>> determinism (and not because our impossibility to find such
>> deterministic dynamics, but because quantum randomness is irredusible),
>> it seems that at the quantum level we are not able to consider physical
>> laws. We are able only to find some statistical correlations.
>>
>> I think that this is totally wrong position. As Newton was, I am also
>> surprised by harmony and consistence in Nature. It could not be just a
>> product of our social agreement. Well, finally Newton came to the idea
>> of God who was responsible for this harmony.
>
> Dear Andrei:
>
> Like Walter Elsasser, I believe there are no laws for biology in the same
> sense as the laws of physics.
>
> Yes, I agree there is regularity and order in the biological world.
>
> Whence the order? Processes, not law.
>
> For further details, please see:
>
> <http://www.cbl.umces.edu/~ulan/ISEPP.DOC>
>
> The best,
> Bob
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------
> Robert E. Ulanowicz | Tel: (410) 326-7266
> Chesapeake Biological Laboratory | FAX: (410) 326-7378
> P.O. Box 38 | Email <ulan@cbl.umces.edu>
> 1 Williams Street | Web <http://www.cbl.umces.edu/~ulan>
> Solomons, MD 20688-0038 |
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>
>
>
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Received on Thu Oct 26 20:05:48 2006


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