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Articles

Instabilities in Nature & Art

Malcolm E. Brown and Steve Hubbard ask if scientific laws are fact or fiction.

Although neither is a philosopher, the authors found themselves discussing philosophy. Steve, a physicist, observed that there seemed to be no laws in sociology of the apparent absolute status of, for example, the laws of thermodynamics, and thought it strange. Malcolm, a sociologist, agreed; but inflamed, pushed the discussion into just what that ‘lack’ meant. We opened a can of cognitive worms that have surprised and fascinated us, and we report our position for readers to consider. We tentatively concluded that there is a universal state of instability which goes further and deeper than either of us expected, applying to every aspect of the natural world, the human condition, and human experience.

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