Does Nature Have Laws? (mystic, experience, verse, science)

[stephenw]

Originally Posted by mball1297

But, can we understand objective reality, considering everything we experience is subjective?

That's the nub of it as far as I'm concerned. Unless we somehow transcend ourselves we cannot.
Objective reality is a concept that to my mind requires a leap of faith, reason leads me to believe in it but unless I transcend myself (and I don't know is such a feat possible) I will not experience objective reality, only subjective reality. I think that to me the concept of objective reality and God are the same.
Great thread by the way.

[Storm]

Thank you.

[Rolling_Stone]

Originally Posted by Storm

What do you think? Is there any such thing as natural law? Or is it just our attempt to impose order on an inherently chaotic system?

Please note, by "natural law," I am NOT referring to the statements of science. However you personally esteem science, it is the map - it is what we can say about nature. I wish to discuss the territory.

"Natural law" is the habit of God. Newton's belief that science was a way to better understand the mind of God was correct.

[Jayhawker Soule]

Originally Posted by Storm

What do you think? Is there any such thing as natural law?

What do you mean by "natural law"?

• Does nature demonstrate regularities?
• Can these regularities be effectively codified to some reasonable degree of accuracy?

If the answer is 'yes', then yes, there is a such thing as 'natural law' if one uses the term to designate extensively verified descriptions of observed regularities.

[Inky]

I think natural law (by the way you're defining it) exists, because if it didn't science wouldn't give consistent results.

[Alex_G]

Natural laws is, as i see, a tool for our understanding and management of our enviroment. Whether things work in various patterns in the objective universe is a useless idea, because to have laws you must have a judgmental eye for it to mean anything. Rather than say chaos, its just un-observed and therefore such ideas as 'laws' dont come into it.
The objective universe is effectivly in a dimention unreachable by laws.

The subjective universe possesses natural laws, which are almost its own definition, quite possible revealing as much about the 'judge' as anything els.

[Jayhawker Soule]

Originally Posted by Alex_G

The subjective universe possesses natural laws, which are almost its own definition, quite possible revealing as much about the 'judge' as anything else.

Absolute nonsense.

[Alex_G]

not really... Stuff might occure in the objective universe according to patters etc, but its our observation and discovery that leads to the 'laws' as such.

There are interactions present everywhere of course, but the apparent laws of the interactions are a human construct.

[Jayhawker Soule]

Originally Posted by Alex_G

not really...

Really. There is every reason to presume that the conservation of angular momentum has absolutely nothing to do with you and, in fact, continues in effect even when you're not looking.