2004/12/01 by John Earman · 9 citations
Arts and Humanities · Physics and Astronomy · Environmental Science · #Philosophy and History of Science #Quantum Mechanics and Applications #Science and Climate Studies
paper · pdf · doi:10.1086/428016
Given its importance in modern physics, philosophers of science have paid surprisingly little attention to the subject of symmetries and invariances, and they have largely neglected the subtopic of symmetry breaking. I illustrate how the topic of laws and symmetries brings into fruitful interaction technical issues in physics and mathematics with both methodological issues in philosophy of science, such as the status of laws of physics, and metaphysical issues, such as the nature of objectivity.