Abstract
Merely approximate symmetry is mundane enough in physics that one rarely finds any explication of it. Among philosophers it has also received scant attention compared to exact symmetries. Herein I invite further consideration of this concept that is so essential to the practice of physics and interpretation of physical theory. After motivating why it deserves such scrutiny, I propose a minimal definition of approximate symmetry—that is, one that presupposes as little structure on a physical theory to which it is applied as seems needed. Then I apply this definition to three topics: first, accounting for or explaining the symmetries of a theory emeritus in intertheoretic reduction; second, explicating and evaluating the Curie-Post principle; and third, a new account of accidental symmetry.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 4811-4831 |
Number of pages | 21 |
Journal | Synthese |
Volume | 198 |
Issue number | 5 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - May 2021 |
Bibliographical note
Publisher Copyright:© 2019, Springer Nature B.V.
Keywords
- Accidental symmetry
- Approximate symmetry
- Curie’s principle
- Intertheoretic reduction
- Intertheoretic relations
- Similarity
- Symmetry
- Symmetry breaking