Realist Accounts of Law
A realist account is one which holds that the law exists in the
world, independent of any thinking being, and over and above any
regularity it may give rise to.
The main realist theory at the moment is the claim that laws are
universals. Thus, there is a universal "All As are B", and since
every A instantiates this universal, every thing that instantiates
A also instantiates B.
Literature
The main source is Armstrong 1983, but this
is a book, and is not easy going.
Problems
The main problem with this account is that universals are at least
as obscure, and rather more controversial, than laws of nature.
Thus, even if the account works, it isn't clear that we gain
anything.
Copyright David Chart 1998