In
philosophy
Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...
, nomology refers to a "science of laws" based on the theory that it is possible to elaborate descriptions dedicated not to particular aspects of reality but inspired by a scientific vision of universal validity expressed by
scientific 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 ...
s.
Etymology
"Nomology" derives from the
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...
, ''law'', and , ''reason''. The term nomology may come from
Aristotle
Aristotle (; 384–322 BC) was an Ancient Greek philosophy, Ancient Greek philosopher and polymath. His writings cover a broad range of subjects spanning the natural sciences, philosophy, linguistics, economics, politics, psychology, a ...
. The '-ology' suffix implies 'order', 'word' and 'reason', and is about being subjectively reasonable or 'logical' as in sociology and psychology. The 'nom-' part implies 'rule' and 'law', and is about being objectively lawful or 'nomic' as in economics.
Nomological networks
A nomological approach requires taking account of both subjective and objective aspects in a decision. Nomology provides the framework for building a
nomological network
A nomological network (or nomological net) is a representation of the concepts ( constructs) of interest in a study, their observable manifestations, and the interrelationships between these. The term "nomological" derives from the Greek, meaning " ...
of relationships between constructs in decision making.
See also
*
Deductive-nomological model
The deductive-nomological model (DN model) of scientific explanation, also known as Hempel's model, the Hempel–Oppenheim model, the Popper–Hempel model, or the covering law model, is a formal view of scientifically answering questions asking, " ...
*
Nomological determinism
Determinism is the metaphysical view that all events within the universe (or multiverse) can occur only in one possible way. Deterministic theories throughout the history of philosophy have developed from diverse and sometimes overlapping mot ...
*
Nomothetic
Nomothetic literally means "proposition of the law" (Greek derivation) and is used in philosophy, psychology, and law with differing meanings.
Etymology
In the general humanities usage, ''nomothetic'' may be used in the sense of "able to lay do ...
References
Philosophy of science
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