Chris Dorst and Marc Lange, “The Necessity of Accidents.” Journal of Philosophy.
Tuesday December 30, 2025
It has recently been suggested that the laws of nature alone could determine everything that happens in the entire history of the universe. Chris Dorst and Marc Lange disagree, arguing that in such a scenario, the so-called “laws” could not play various central roles characteristic of laws, and thus, they conclude, they are not laws at all. In short, if there are laws of nature, there must also be accidents (i.e. facts not determined by the laws alone).