In the Beginning was Information

2 Principles of Laws of Nature2.1 The Terminology Used in the Natural SciencesThrough the natural sciences the world around us is observed forthe purpose of discovering the rules governing it. Experimentationand observation (e. g. measuring and weighing) are the basic‘modus operandi’. Hans Sachsse, who specialised in natural philosophyand chemistry, described (natural) science as “a census ofobservational relationships which cannot say anything about firstcauses or the reasons for things being as they are; it can only establishthe regularity of the relationships.” The observational materialis organised systematically, and the principles derived from it areformulated in the most general terms possible (e. g. construction ofmachines). Questions about the origin of the world and of life, aswell as ethical questions, fall outside the scope of science, andsuch questions cannot be answered scientifically. Conclusionsabout matters that do fall within the scope of (natural) science, canbe formulated with varying degrees of certainty. The certainty oruncertainty of the results can be expressed in various ways.Law of Nature: If the truth of a statement is verified repeatedly ina reproducible way so that it is regarded as generally valid, then wehave a natural law. The structures and phenomena encountered inthe real world can be described in terms of the laws of nature in theform of principles which are universally valid. This holds for boththeir chronological development and their internal structural relationships.The laws of nature describe those phenomena, eventsand results which occur in the interplay between matter and energy.For these reasons psychological emotions like love, mourning, orjoy, and philosophical questions, are excluded from the natural sciences.Statements about natural events can be classified accordingto the degree of certainty, namely: models, theories, hypotheses,paradigms, speculations, and fiction. These categories are now discussed:Model: Models are representations of reality. Only the mostimportant properties are reflected, and minor or unrecognised22