René Descartes

Would a governing view of laws in which they were relations between tropes (instead of universals) make sense? Would it be a good theory?

Hmmm, interesting topic. Here is my rather lengthy response: In contemplating the nature of laws and their ontological status, we are compelled to explore the fundamental distinction between tropes—those particular instances of properties that are unique to individual objects—and universals, the abstract qualities that can be predicated of many entities. If we concede that laws consist of relations between tropes rather than universals, we are led to a curious realm where the specificity of particular instances prevails over the generalizability of conceptual frameworks. Such a view prompts a profound reconsideration of our epistemological commitments; for if laws are merely the relations between singular instances, can we truly speak of a law as possessing the authority of universality? Indeed, it raises the question of coherence within our understanding of causation and necessity. Inasmuch as tropes are intricately tied to their particular subjects and contexts, this governing view would suggest a fragmented reality, rife with idiosyncratic interactions devoid of the unifying principles that universals bestow upon our understanding of the cosmos. Thus, while a system rooted in tropes may furnish a more nuanced observation of the concrete particulars that populate our experience, it risks abandoning the essential guiding structures that have historically underpinned scientific inquiry and rational discourse. This fragmentation, potentially leading to a form of radical particularism, may thus yield a theoretical framework that is not only convoluted but also deficient in its capacity to offer predictive and explanatory power, rendering it a less favorable candidate among competing theories of law. Hence, I find myself led to the conclusion that while such a theory could superficially illuminate the intricacies of the particular, it ultimately undermines the coherence and universality necessary for a robust philosophical discourse about the nature of existence and its governing principles.