Physicists determine what the laws of physics are whilst philosophers determine what they are. So what are the laws of physics? Are they primitive and metaphysically prior to all other things and thus completely independent or do they only exist in relation to properties and fact themselves, or do the laws just simply supervene? So in what capacity do the laws of physics exist? What is their relationship to mathematical logic, to coherent theoretical systems and models? What is their relationship to necessity and probability, to causal powers and explanation and to what extent are they part of a realist or anti realist account of science and how do they relate to overall metaphysics?
Interview & discussion with Professor Barry Loewer
Barry Loewer is one of the worlds’ leading philosophers of physics, known for his distinguished work on the laws of nature and physics as well as mental causation. He is distinguished professor of philosophy at Rutgers University and director of the Rutgers Center for Philosophy and the Sciences. He is the author of Laws of Nature and Chances: What Breathes Fire into the Equations (Oxford University Press, 2024).
Interview & discussion with Dr Jacob Barendes
Jacob Barandes is a lecturer in physics and philosophy of physics at Harvard University where he is co-director of Graduate studies for physics. He specialises in quantum foundations, the classical limit, the philosophy of (space)time, the metaphysics of laws, the nature of probability, and the formal and logical structure of our best physical theories.
Interview & discussion with Professor George Ellis
George Ellis is the emeritus distinguished professor of complex systems in the Department of Mathematics and Applied Mathematics at the University of Cape Town in South Africa. He co-authored The Large Scale Structure of Space-Time with Stephen Hawking in 1973 and is considered one of the world’s leading theorists in cosmology.