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How the Laws of Physics Lie
Cartwright became widely known after she came up with her radical thesis and put together a collection of essays in her "book" How the Laws of Physics Lie. She spoke about the cautious realism about theoretical entities that did not depend on peoples ability to create true laws about them. Other philosophers have assumed that there are a set of underlying physical laws that describe natural events. Before Nancy wrote these essays it was a more opinionated topic. -
How the Laws of Physics Lie continued
She argued based on a distinction between phenomenological and theoretical laws. Where phenomenological laws apply to actually observed phenomena. Her point she is trying to portray across from this book is to interpret the unifying laws of basic theory cannot. Her understanding is she put together descriptions and models to match the mathematical representation of the theory. -
Professor of Philosophy
Nancy has been a professor at Durham University and University of California, San Diego where she has taught several students who became professional philosophers to this day. At Durham she is also a co-director for the Center of Humanities of the science and society. The center of humanities is a research center that she co founded in 1990 and is aimed for research on philosophical, methodological and foundational questions that arise in natural and social sciences. -
Honored for Lifetime Scholarly Achievement
Nancy was the first women to be honored with the prestigious Hempel award that was only given to four people so far. Nancy said after receiving the award "when we work together and encourage each other to bring out the best in our own work, and that of others. I think it is also important that we learn and think seriously about lots of different topics, as that not only helps us engage with the rest of the world, but it brings to our philosophy a far broader perspective."