Handedness, parity violation, and the reality of space

In Katherine Brading & Elena Castellani (eds.), Symmetries in Physics: Philosophical Reflections. New York: Cambridge University Press. pp. 250--280 (2002)
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Abstract

In the first part of this paper a relational account of incongruent counterparts is defended against an argument due to Kant. I then consider a more recent attack on such an account, due to John Earman, which alleges that the relationalist cannot account for the lawlike left--right asymmetry manifested in parity-violating phenomena. I review Hoefer's, Huggett's and Saunders' responses to Earman's argument and argue that, while a relationalist account of parity-violating laws is possible, it comes at the cost of non-locality.

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Oliver Pooley
University of Oxford

Citations of this work

Symmetry as an Epistemic Notion.Shamik Dasgupta - 2016 - British Journal for the Philosophy of Science 67 (3):837-878.
Minkowski space-time: A glorious non-entity.Harvey R. Brown & Oliver Pooley - 2006 - In Dennis Geert Bernardus Johan Dieks (ed.), Ontology of Spacetime. Boston: Elsevier. pp. 67--89.
The Flow of Time.Huw Price - 2011 - In Craig Callender (ed.), The Oxford Handbook of Philosophy of Time. Oxford University Press.

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References found in this work

The Metaphysics of Space-Time Substantivalism.Carl Hoefer - 1996 - Journal of Philosophy 93 (1):5-27.
The Essence of Space-Time.Tim Maudlin - 1988 - PSA: Proceedings of the Biennial Meeting of the Philosophy of Science Association 1988:82 - 91.
Halfway through the Woods: Contemporary research on space and time.Carlo Rovelli - 1997 - In John Earman & John D. Norton (eds.), The Cosmos of Science: Essays of Exploration. University of Pittsburgh Press. pp. 180--223.
Mach's principle and the structure of dynamical theories.Julian B. Barbour & Bruno Bertotti - 1982 - Proceedings of the Royal Society, London:295--306.

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