Abstract: This article starts with the philosophical questions of whether there are laws, whether laws can be understood and and how to understand them. It first presents a historical review of First Philosophy sought by ancient philosophers, the success of empirical science and rationalism, the challenges posed by irrationalism and phenomenology. Then it argues that rules are the unity of certainty and probability, of universality and specificity, of free will and group choice. Pavlov’s research on learning, Dewey’s educational experiments from man-made situation to real-life situation and Piaget’s research on genetic epistemology, show that understanding laws of education is a process of progressive improvement. A deeper understanding of laws of education results from the interaction between ideas and evidence, as well as the breakthrough of empirical research methodology.

Key words: law, law of education, empirical research