The Philosophy of Symmetry
Title | The Philosophy of Symmetry PDF eBook |
Author | Nicholas Joshua Yii Wye Teh |
Publisher | Cambridge University Press |
Pages | 151 |
Release | 2024-06-20 |
Genre | Science |
ISBN | 1009020544 |
This Element is a concise, high-level introduction to the philosophy of physical symmetry. It begins with the notion of 'physical representation' (the kind of empirical representation of nature that we effect in doing physics), and then lays out the historically and conceptually central case of physical symmetry that frequently falls under the rubric of 'the Relativity Principle,' or 'Galileo's Ship.' This material is then used as a point of departure to explore the key hermeneutic challenge concerning physical symmetry in the past century, namely understanding the physical significance of the notion of 'local' gauge symmetry. The approach taken stresses both the continuity with historically important themes such as the Relativity Principle, as well as novel insights earned by working with contemporary representational media such as the covariant phase space formalism.
Symmetries in Physics
Title | Symmetries in Physics PDF eBook |
Author | Katherine Brading |
Publisher | Cambridge University Press |
Pages | 459 |
Release | 2003-12-04 |
Genre | Science |
ISBN | 1139442023 |
This book brings together philosophical discussions of symmetry in physics, highlighting the main issues and controversies. It covers all the fundamental symmetries of modern physics, as well as discussing symmetry-breaking and general interpretational issues. For each topic, classic texts are followed by review articles and short commentaries.
From Summetria to Symmetry: The Making of a Revolutionary Scientific Concept
Title | From Summetria to Symmetry: The Making of a Revolutionary Scientific Concept PDF eBook |
Author | Giora Hon |
Publisher | Springer Science & Business Media |
Pages | 337 |
Release | 2008-07-09 |
Genre | Science |
ISBN | 140208448X |
Many literary critics seem to think that an hypothesis about obscure and remote questions of history can be refuted by a simple demand for the production of more evidence than in fact exists. The demand is as easy to make as it is impossible to satisfy. But the true test of an hypothesis, if it cannot be shown to con?ict with known truths, is the number of facts that it correlates and explains. Francis M. Cornford [1914] 1934, 220. It was in the autumn of 1997 that the research project leading to this publication began. One of us [GH], while a visiting fellow at the Center for Philosophy of Science (University of Pittsburgh), gave a talk entitled, “Proportions and Identity: The Aesthetic Aspect of Symmetry”. The presentation focused on a confusion s- rounding the concept of symmetry: it exhibits unity, yet it is often claimed to reveal a form of beauty, namely, harmony, which requires a variety of elements. In the audience was the co-author of this book [BRG] who responded with enthusiasm, seeking to extend the discussion of this issue to historical sources in earlier periods. A preliminary search of the literature persuaded us that the history of symmetry was rich in possibilities for new insights into the making of concepts. John Roche’s brief essay (1987), in which he sketched the broad outlines of the history of this concept, was particularly helpful, and led us to conclude that the subject was worthy of monographic treatment.
Laws and Symmetry
Title | Laws and Symmetry PDF eBook |
Author | Bas C. van Fraassen |
Publisher | Clarendon Press |
Pages | 410 |
Release | 1989-11-02 |
Genre | Science |
ISBN | 0191519995 |
Metaphysicians speak of laws of nature in terms of necessity and universality; scientists do so in terms of symmetry and invariance. This book argues that no metaphysical account of laws can succeed. The author analyses and rejects the arguments that there are laws of nature, or that we must believe that there are. He argues that we should discard the idea of law as an inadequate clue to science. After exploring what this means for general epistemology, the book develops the empiricist view of science as a construction of models to represent the phenomena. Concepts of symmetry, transformation, and invariance illuminate the structure of such models. A central role is played in science by symmetry arguments, and it is shown how these function also in the philosophical analysis of probability. The advocated approach presupposes no realism about laws or necessities in nature.
Symmetries of Nature
Title | Symmetries of Nature PDF eBook |
Author | Klaus Mainzer |
Publisher | Walter de Gruyter |
Pages | 696 |
Release | 2013-12-02 |
Genre | Philosophy |
ISBN | 3110886936 |
Philosophy of Symmetry
Title | Philosophy of Symmetry PDF eBook |
Author | Sundar Sarukkai |
Publisher | |
Pages | 167 |
Release | 2004 |
Genre | Philosophy and science |
ISBN | 9788179860427 |
Discusses Themes For Understanding The Philosophical Foundations Of Symmetry This Analysis Is In 2 Parts; Metaphysical And Phenomenological. Also Addresses The Aesthetics Of Symmetry Including The Relation Between Beauty And Symmetry In Part Three.
Symmetry
Title | Symmetry PDF eBook |
Author | Hermann Weyl |
Publisher | Princeton University Press |
Pages | 176 |
Release | 2015-07-06 |
Genre | Mathematics |
ISBN | 1400874343 |
Symmetry is a classic study of symmetry in mathematics, the sciences, nature, and art from one of the twentieth century's greatest mathematicians. Hermann Weyl explores the concept of symmetry beginning with the idea that it represents a harmony of proportions, and gradually departs to examine its more abstract varieties and manifestations—as bilateral, translatory, rotational, ornamental, and crystallographic. Weyl investigates the general abstract mathematical idea underlying all these special forms, using a wealth of illustrations as support. Symmetry is a work of seminal relevance that explores the great variety of applications and importance of symmetry.