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Agenda for Evolving Laws Workshop
Conveners: Roberto Mangabeira Unger (Harvard Law School) and Lee Smolin (PI)
August 16 and 17, 2005
Perimeter Institute, Alice Room
Topics for discussion:
- What evidence do we have that the laws in the
different domains might be historical or not?
- The logical status of evolving laws
- The problem of whether it is necessary to ground
evolving laws in a more fundamental and static metalaw.
- The problem of whether there is a logically coherent sense in which laws could evolve along with the phenomena they describe.
- The relation of the possible historicity of the laws
to the issue of the reality of time.
- The relation to the issue of whether time is local
or global.
- The relation to the problem of causation, or whether causal structure is fundamental or not.
- Relations to other issues:
- The relationship of the possible historicity of laws
to the modal categories of possibility and necessity.
- Relation to issues of reductionism and the emergence of bulk objects
audio may be downloaded here
Discussants:
Olaf Dreyer (physics, PI)
Peter Grassberger (PI, statistical physics, visitor)
Lucien Hardy (physics, PI)
Stuart Kauffman (theoretical biology, Calgary)
Jaron Lanier (computer science)
Fotini Markopoulou (physics, PI)
Kalypso Nicolaidis (political science, Oxford)
Maya Paczuski (physics, complex systems, Imperial, PI and Calgary)
Simon Saunders (philosophy, Oxford and PI)
Lee Smolin (physics, PI)
Roberto Mangabeira Unger (law and social theory, Harvard)
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Schedule of discussion topics
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Tuesday:
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9:30 am
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Session I: What evidence do we have that the laws in the different domains might be historical or not?
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Opening remarks: Lee, Jaron, Stu, Roberto, Simon, othersâ¦
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11:00 - 11:30
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Coffee break
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11:30 - 1:00
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Discussion: The big questions on the logical status of evolving laws. Is it necessary to ground evolving laws in a more fundamental and static metalaw? Is there a logically coherent sense in which laws could evolve along with the phenomena they describe?
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1:00 - 2:00
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Lunch, in room, information discussion.
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2:00 - 5:00
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Session II Time, causality and related issues Fotini, othersâ¦
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7:00
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Dinner
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Wednesday:
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9:30 am
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Session III: Related issues:
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Relation to issues of reductionism and the emergence of bulk objects - Simon, Jaron, Olafâ¦
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How evolving laws might look in an operational framework. Lucien
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The relationship of the possible historicity of laws to the modal categories of possibility and necessity. Rodolfo
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11:00 - 11:30
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Coffee break
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11:30 - 1:00
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Discussion
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1:00 - 2:00
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Lunch
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2:00
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Session IV: Return to the questions on the logical status of evolving laws
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3:30
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Coffee
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4:00 - 5:00
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Summary, concluding remarks, future plans.
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