Eddy Keming Chen, University of California San Diego :: The Simplicity of Physical Laws
Wednesday March 22, 2023

Abstract: Physical laws are strikingly simple, although there is no a priori reason they must be so. I propose that nomic realists of all types (Humeans and non-Humeans) should accept that simplicity is a fundamental epistemic guide for discovering and evaluating candidate physical laws. This principle of simplicity clarifies and solves several problems of nomic realism and simplicity. A consequence is that the often-cited epistemic advantage of Humeanism over non-Humeanism is exaggerated, undercutting an influential epistemological argument for Humeanism. Moreover, simplicity is shown to be more tightly connected to lawhood than to mere truth.

#You are encouraged but not required to read the preprint before attending the talk: https://arxiv.org/pdf/2210.08143.pdf