Symmetry and Equivalence

Belot, Gordon

doi:10.1093/oxfordhb/9780195392043.013.0010

Cited by 49 publications

(63 citation statements)

References 41 publications

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“…In practice, the task of determining the symmetries of a theory in the sense of singling out these automorphisms can be highly nontrivial. See (Belot [2011]) for a recent study of "symmetry" and "physical equivalence", which argues that we do not have any formal (i.e. purely mathematical) criterion for symmetries that goes well with the idea that symmetries are those state space automorphisms which operate between physically equivalent states.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Symmetry, Empirical Equivalence, and Identity

Friederich¹

2015

The British Journal for the Philosophy of Science

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Abstract:The paper proposes a novel approach to the much discussed question of which symmetries have direct empirical significance and which do not. The approach is based on a development of a recently proposed framework by Hilary Greaves and David Wallace, who claim that, contrary to the standard folklore among philosophers of physics, local symmetries may have direct empirical significance no less than global ones. Partly vindicating the standard folklore, a result is derived here from a number of quite plausible assumptions, which states that local symmetries can indeed have no direct empirical significance. Ways to interpret the result are considered and possible morals are outlined.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Symmetry, Empirical Equivalence, and Identity

Friederich¹

2015

The British Journal for the Philosophy of Science

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“…(2) Given a family of representationally equivalent solutions, how large is the family of physical situations that they are suited to represent? Regarding question (1), it is important to note that two solutions can be related by a symmetry without being representationally equivalent—for discussion and examples, see Belot (). But in the cases to be discussed below, we will be interested in symmetries that relate isomorphic solutions.…”

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confidence: 99%

Fifty Million Elvis Fans Can't be Wrong

Belot

2017

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Abstract. This essay revisits some classic problems in the philosophy of space and time concerning the counting of possibilities. I argue that we should think that two Newtonian worlds can differ only as to when or where things happen and that general relativistic worlds can differ in something like the same way-the first of these theses being quaintly heterodox, the second baldly heretical, according to the mores of contemporary philosophy of physics.

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“…The obvious definition is in terms of restrictions of universe symmetries to subsystems, but it is not immediately clear how to do this since universe symmetries may not leave the subsystems themselves 2 The practical importance of this criterion notwithstanding the challenge of connecting empirical equivalence with any formal criterion for symmetries such as invariance of the Lagrangian under variable transformations is actually very complex. See (Belot 2011) for a study of "symmetry" and "physical equivalence" which explores and highlights some of the difficulties that arise from this challenge.…”

Section: Physical States and Symmetriesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Symmetries and the Identity of Physical States

Friederich

2017

European Studies in Philosophy of Science

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The paper proposes a combined account of identity for physical states and direct empirical significance for symmetries according to which symmetry-related state variables designate distinct physical states if and only if the symmetry that relates them has direct empirical significance. Strengthening an earlier result, I show that, given this combined account, the local gauge symmetries in our leading contemporary theories of particle physics do not have any direct empirical significance.

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Symmetry and Equivalence

Cited by 49 publications

References 41 publications

Symmetry, Empirical Equivalence, and Identity

Symmetry, Empirical Equivalence, and Identity

Fifty Million Elvis Fans Can't be Wrong

Symmetries and the Identity of Physical States

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