Lecture
LTP Colloquium "How should Humeans deal with tied best systems? "
- Date
- Thursday 7 May 2026
- Time
- Location
-
P.J. Veth
Nonnensteeg 1-3
2311 VJ Leiden - Room
- 0,06
The Leiden University Centre Theoretical Philosophy is pleased to announce a lecture by Dr. Lisa Vogt, research fellow at the University of Geneva.
How should Humeans deal with tied best systems? (joint work with Niels Linnemann and Robert Michels)
According to the Humean Best System Account (BSA), the laws of nature are the contingent theorems of the best system, a canonically formulated true theory of the world which strikes the optimal balance between theoretical virtues such as strength and simplicity. Humeans commonly assume that there can only be one best system and accordingly only one set of laws of nature. In recent years, however, the idea that there could be cases of tied best systems, in which multiple systems score equally well in terms of the trade- off, has gained prominence (cf. Hall 2015, Loew and Jaag 2020, Linnemann and Michels 2025). The aim of this talk is to support the case for tied best systems and to discuss how Humeans should best deal with such cases. We critically evaluate five different options, and ultimately argue that adherents of the orthodox BSA should accept the existence of indeterminate laws, whereas a kind of contextualist account is the best option for pragmatic versions of the BSA.
All are welcome!