Symmetries and Representation

Datos Bibliográficos

ID4079609
AutoresGeoffrey Hall (0009-0008-2297-3272, Independent Scholar Boone North Carolina USA), Sebastián Murgueitio Ramírez (0000-0003-0035-0150, Purdue University West Lafayette, autor de correspondencia)
Año2024
Volumen19
Número3
Fecha de publicación2024-03-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaPhilosophy Compass (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 1747-9991 • E-ISSN: 1747-9991
EditorialWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/phc3.12971
OpenAlexW4392918852
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas2
Referencias citadas46

It is often said in physics that if two models of a theory are related by a symmetry, then the two models provide (or could provide) two different representations of the very same situation, alike the case of two maps of different color for the very same city. It is also said that the situations represented by two models of a theory are indiscernible in some ways when the models in question are related by a symmetry of the theory, just like the situation in the interior of the cabin of a train when the train is at rest in the station is empirically indiscernible from the situation in the interior when the train is moving uniformly (in classical mechanics, these two situations are represented by two models related by a boost). In recent years, philosophers of physics have focused a lot of attention in developing various principles that aim to elucidate these and similar remarks on symmetries, models, physical equivalence, and representation that are widespread in physics practice. The goal of the current article is to provide a critical review of these principles, and suggest a new framework for thinking about these kinds of questions. One important upshot of the paper is that questions of indiscernibility, and questions of the representational capacity of models, must be distinguished from one another

Compass · Epistemology · Equivalence (formal languages · Geometry · Homogeneous space · Physics · Pure mathematics · Quantum mechanics · Representation (politics · Symmetry (geometry · Theoretical physics · Computer Science · Mathematics · Philosophy · Philosophy and History of Science · Quantum Mechanics and Applications · Relativity and Gravitational Theory