Norman Swartz (born 1939) is an American philosopher and professor emeritus (retired 1998) of philosophy, Simon Fraser University. He is the author or co-author of multiple books and multiple articles on the Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. He earned a B.A. in physics from Harvard University in 1961, an M.A. in history and philosophy of science from Indiana University in 1965 and a Ph.D. in history of philosophy of science in 1971 also from Indiana University.[1] He uses the term physical law to mean the laws of nature as they truly are and not as they are inferred and described in the practice of science.[2]