Norman Swartz (born 1939) is an American philosopher and

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who pr ...

emeritus (retired 1998) of philosophy, Simon Fraser University. He is the author or co-author of multiple books and multiple articles on the

Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy The ''Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy'' (''IEP'') is a scholarly online encyclopedia, dealing with philosophy, philosophical topics, and philosophers. The IEP combines open access publication with peer reviewed publication of original papers ...

. He earned a

B.A Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

. in physics from Harvard University in 1961, an

M.A. A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. ...

in history and philosophy of science from

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a system of public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. Campuses Indiana University has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration of IUPUI. *Indiana Universit ...

in 1965 and a

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...

in history of philosophy of science in 1971 also from Indiana University. He uses the term

physical law Scientific laws or laws of science are statements, based on repeated experiments or observations, that describe or predict a range of natural phenomena. The term ''law'' has diverse usage in many cases (approximate, accurate, broad, or narrow) ...

to mean the laws of nature as they truly are and not as they are inferred and described in the practice of science.
The Concept of Physical Law
', Norman Swartz, (New York: Cambridge University Press), 1985. 2nd edition, available online.

Publications

Following is an incomplete list of publications.

Books

* Possible Worlds: An Introduction to Logic and Its Philosophy. Co-authored with Raymond Bradley. (Indianapolis: Hackett), 1979. * The Concept of Physical Law. (New York: Cambridge University Press), 1985. * Beyond Experience: Metaphysical Theories and Philosophical Constraints. (Toronto: University of Toronto Press), 1991.

Articles on the Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy

Laws of Nature

Truth

Foreknowledge and Free Will

References

External links

A search for "Norman Swartz" on Philpapers.org.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Swartz, Norman American philosophers Living people Simon Fraser University faculty Harvard University alumni Indiana University alumni 1939 births