Uploaded June 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
*Can a law of nature exist even if nothing ever falls under it?*
Michael Tooley argues that causation may require temporally asymmetric laws, explores how those laws relate to the nature of time, and defends the possibility that some governing laws could exist even when they are never instantiated.
0:00 Laws as Relations Between Universals
4:10 Probabilistic Laws and Causation
7:12 Temporal Asymmetry and Causal Skepticism
15:29 Causation and the Nature of Time
22:27 Governing Laws and Reductionism
27:02 The Case for Uninstantiated Laws
*Michael Tooley* is Emeritus Distinguished Professor of Philosophy at the University of Colorado Boulder. He received a Boulder Faculty Assembly Excellence in Research Award in 1998 for his book _Time, Tense, and Causation,_ and is the author of the new book _Causation: A Defense of a Non-Reductionist Approach_ (Oxford, 2026).
*More from Michael Tooley on Closer To Truth:*
* Closer To Truth: The Podcast: youtube.com/playlist?list=PLFJr3pJl27pLLkP0kHQKL9nZh35UkgkR_
* What Things Really Exist? - CTT Interview Series: youtube.com/playlist?list=PLFJr3pJl27pL23EJxiJggorKB66CHSAU-
* Closer To Truth contributors: closertotruth.com/contributor/michael-tooley
*Subscribe to Closer To Truth:* youtube.com/@CloserToTruthTV
*Join the Community:*
* Membership (5,000+ videos): closertotruth.com/register
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Closer To Truth, created and hosted by Robert Lawrence Kuhn, presents the world's greatest thinkers exploring humanity's deepest questions. Discover fundamental issues of existence and sentience. Engage new and diverse ways of thinking. Appreciate intense debates. Share your own opinions. Seek your own answers.
#CloserToTruth #Cosmos #MichaelTooley #LawsOfNature #PhilosophyOfTime
*Can a law of nature exist even if nothing ever falls under it?*
Michael Tooley argues that causation may require temporally asymmetric laws, explores how those laws relate to the nature of time, and defends the possibility that some governing laws could exist even when they are never instantiated.
0:00 Laws as Relations Between Universals
4:10 Probabilistic Laws and Causation
7:12 Temporal Asymmetry and Causal Skepticism
15:29 Causation and the Nature of Time
22:27 Governing Laws and Reductionism
27:02 The Case for Uninstantiated Laws
*Michael Tooley* is Emeritus Distinguished Professor of Philosophy at the University of Colorado Boulder. He received a Boulder Faculty Assembly Excellence in Research Award in 1998 for his book _Time, Tense, and Causation,_ and is the author of the new book _Causation: A Defense of a Non-Reductionist Approach_ (Oxford, 2026).
*More from Michael Tooley on Closer To Truth:*
* Closer To Truth: The Podcast: youtube.com/playlist?list=PLFJr3pJl27pLLkP0kHQKL9nZh35UkgkR_
* What Things Really Exist? - CTT Interview Series: youtube.com/playlist?list=PLFJr3pJl27pL23EJxiJggorKB66CHSAU-
* Closer To Truth contributors: closertotruth.com/contributor/michael-tooley
*Subscribe to Closer To Truth:* youtube.com/@CloserToTruthTV
*Join the Community:*
* Membership (5,000+ videos): closertotruth.com/register
* Audio Podcast: closertotruth.podbean.com
* Support the Show: closertotruth.com/donate
* Official Merchandise: bonfire.com/store/closertotruth
*Follow Us:*
* Facebook: facebook.com/CloserToTruthTV
* Instagram: instagram.com/closertotruth
* X: https://x.com/CloserToTruth
Closer To Truth, created and hosted by Robert Lawrence Kuhn, presents the world's greatest thinkers exploring humanity's deepest questions. Discover fundamental issues of existence and sentience. Engage new and diverse ways of thinking. Appreciate intense debates. Share your own opinions. Seek your own answers.
#CloserToTruth #Cosmos #MichaelTooley #LawsOfNature #PhilosophyOfTime
