Bradley, Clara and Weatherall, James Owen (2026) We Have Never Been Sophisticated. [Preprint]

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Abstract

Many philosophers of physics maintain that a physical theory that exhibits (certain kinds of) symmetries is flawed, on the grounds that such theories posit "excess structure". In an influential paper, Dewar [2019, "Sophistication about Symmetries", Brit. J. Phil. Sci. 70: 485-521] introduces a distinction between "reduction" and "sophistication" as alternative ways of removing excess structure. In this paper we re-examine the distinction as Dewar draws it, and we argue that there is no physically or philosophically important distinction between what Dewar calls "reduction" and what he calls "internal sophistication". We then argue that there are multiple notions of "reduction" in the literature that ought to be distinguished, both in motivation and in outcome.

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Item Type:	Preprint
Creators:	Creators Email ORCID Bradley, Clara clarajbradley@gmail.com Weatherall, James Owen weatherj@uci.edu
Keywords:	symmetry, sophistication, reduction, gauge theory
Subjects:	Specific Sciences > Physics Specific Sciences > Physics > Symmetries/Invariances
Depositing User:	James Owen Weatherall
Date Deposited:	15 May 2026 19:28
Last Modified:	15 May 2026 19:28
Item ID:	29629
Subjects:	Specific Sciences > Physics Specific Sciences > Physics > Symmetries/Invariances
Date:	2026
URI:	https://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/id/eprint/29629

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