Abstract:
If the tiles of a mosaic are arranged symmetrically, then the image those tiles constitute must be symmetric as well. This paper formulates and defends the general principle at work in this case: roughly, that a symmetry cannot ground an asymmetry. It is argued that the principle supports strong objections to four metaphysical views: qualitativism, relationalism, the tenseless or \'B\' theory of time, and comparativism. A response to these objections is developed which appeals to fragmentalism, the view that reality contains facts which are incompatible with one another. But fragmentalism might be thought too bizarre to tolerate, and if it is, then the objections developed in this paper may well be fatal.
摘要:
如果马赛克的瓷砖对称排列,那么这些图块构成的图像也必须是对称的。本文阐述并捍卫了在这种情况下工作的一般原则:对称性不能以不对称性为基础。有人认为,该原则支持对四种形而上学观点的强烈反对:关系主义,时间的紧张或“B”理论,和比较主义。对这些反对意见提出了回应,呼吁碎片主义,认为现实包含彼此不相容的事实。但是碎片主义可能被认为太奇怪而不能容忍,如果是的话,那么本文提出的反对意见很可能是致命的。