The Thomistic Institute Nature's Cheat Codes? On the Course of Nature and its Laws – Prof. John G. Brungardt
Oct 1, 2025
Join John G. Brungardt, an associate professor of philosophy at Newman University and a Dominican tertiary, as he dives into the fascinating relationship between nature's laws and their underlying natures. He discusses the shift from viewing laws as divine orders to modern instrumental 'cheat codes.' Brungardt argues for a return to understanding natures as causally prior to laws. He also explores how scientific laws serve as human conceptual transcriptions of natural relations and ends by emphasizing love as the principle that maintains order in nature.
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Balloon Example Shows Encoding Gap
- Brungardt uses the ideal gas law and a balloon example to show encoding from things to equations and back again.
- He emphasizes that the balloon itself 'does not know' the equation; equations are our transcription tools.
Laws Transcribe Nature's Course
- Laws of nature are partial transcriptions of the course of nature, which itself flows from the natures (forms) of things.
- Laws encode observed behaviors but ultimately track effects produced by underlying natural causes.
Course Of Nature Linked To Divine Art
- Aquinas traces the course of nature to divine art, making the cosmos' ordered unfolding intelligible and calculable in part.
- The course of nature can be both natural and imitable by human art, like astronomers computing stellar courses.
