Physics is traditionally conceived of as a set of laws that universally governs the behavior of physical systems. These laws, however they are decreed, are believed to govern the behavior of not only everything in the universe, but the form of the universe itself, that is, the very nature of space and time in which everything is conceived to be embedded. The laws of physics distinguish the probable from the improbable, and separate the possible from the impossible. But is this law-based description of the universe too anthropomorphic? Are we really to believe that when we release a rock from our hand that it is somehow compelled by this decree and thus obliged to fall to the ground? Or are there deeper reasons why the rock does what it does every time it is released? In this essay, I discuss the nature of physical laws, the subtleties that arise when attempting to distinguish between determined and derivable laws from accidental or contingent laws. Other perspectives, based on information processing, are briefly introduced.
Kevin H Knuth