The laws of science (what laws?)

It's common for people to speak glibly about the laws of science; but it's far from clear what this means, or what it should mean. Are all 'laws' the same? Do the same laws operate in every aspect of life on this planet?

Quotes and comments;
A. Joseph Needham has pointed out :
"Biological organization . . . cannot be reduced to physio-chemical organization because nothing can ever be reduced to anything. The laws which operate at the level of the organic do not operate on the level of the inorganic.'' [1.]

- Isn't it the pretense of scientism (naturalism) that the same laws operate at all levels? ie. that the same laws are at work in living organisms as in stars or comets? Isn't scientism the denial of biological laws? ie. a denial that when it comes to biology, genetic code is determinative (information) and not the laws of physics.

A problem we have when we try to untangle the mess called 'origin of life studies' is that the word law is used in several different ways; in ways that aren't often spelled out clearly. e.g. Can we speak of the 'laws' of biology? Are there laws at work in the genetic code? Should we speak of the laws of biology or use another term?

B. 'This brief resume of the development of adequate "organic" categories of explanation in the biological sciences enables us to realize more clearly what the crucial problem of the social and moral sciences is today. In essence it is a methodological rather than an empirical one, namely, that of articulating the thought-forms and categories of explanation which are really appropriate to human life and the human level.
In short, it is the problem of finding out how to think about human beings as persons rather than things and how to give expression to the fact that they are persons or minds rather than mere things.' [1.]

- I agree with those who insist we talk about human beings, living organisms, and inert matter in different terms; with different terminology. One of the regrettable consequences of logical positivism (and popularly with scientism) is that the same methodology is used to study rocks and to study children. To see human beings in terms of matter in motion (under the sway of the laws of physics) has been a disaster for intellectual thought and for society in general. To see man truly you have to look at him in terms of moral law (as defined by God) not in terms of the laws of chemistry. [2.]

Notes;
1. The Christian Philosophy of Law, Politics and the State - E.L. Hebden Taylor p. 388
- This excellent book (a kind of introduction to the work of Herman Dooyeweerd) is available online for free at Reformed Publishing Project.
2. To say this isn't to deny that certain physical laws aren't operate in human beings, but to deny that they are what's vital. Human beings are who they are not because of physical laws working on inert matter, but because they were informed by the 'law' of God. (i.e. by intelligent design)