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Inverse View
It is not the case that Hume's regularity theory shows necessity is a psychological projection onto constant conjunctions, not a feature of empirical laws themselves.
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Reasons For
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1.
Distinguishing counterfactuals requires genuine modal facts—'if heated, water would boil' differs from mere psychological habit or belief.
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2.
Laws of nature explain why constant conjunctions occur; reducing laws to psychological projections makes explanation circular or impossible.
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3.
If necessity is purely subjective projection, causal reasoning becomes arbitrary, undercutting justification for induction itself.
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Reasons Against
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Reason against
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1.
We observe only constant conjunction in nature, never necessity itself—necessity is never directly perceived as an empirical datum.
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2.
Our sense of necessity arises from repeated exposure creating habits of expectation, which explains why necessity feels compelling psychologically.
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3.
Positing unobservable metaphysical necessity violates empiricist principles by invoking entities beyond what experience can justify.
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