Besides the aforementioned fundamental symmetries, physicists have discovered scores of other space-time symmetries, so that this ethical system may be improved in proportion as we integrate new symmetries. Now listen to Steve Weinberg (Nobel Prize Laureate in Physics) who, in his own way, confirms the words of Mr Rubbia when he says:

“Nature is governed by laws of great simplicity and great beauty. All our experiences, especially in the 20th Century, lead us to believe that the principles of symmetry are essential components thereof. A principle of symmetry expresses that Nature remains the same when considered from different points of view, which may be distinct orientations of a laboratory in space or various ways to name certain particles, such as the names “electron” and “neutron”, “weak” and “electromagnetic”. To state that Nature does not change when seen from different points of view is of major importance, as it determines the structure of equations.” (1)

Fundamental laws are invariable; thus, the unity of rationality is preserved. Thanks to this invariance (symmetry) of laws, a scientist established in Buenos Aires can perform the same experiment as if he were in Tokyo, and he will get the same results. Gravitation on the Moon follows the same laws as on Earth, even though it is proportional to the mass. Therefore, designing an ethical system based on the laws of symmetry presents an immense advantage: that of making it universal.

Suppose I hold a cylinder before me: you would see a rectangle while I, looking at it from above, see a circle. And yet, we see the same cylinder, the same reality. Perceived reality merely depends on our viewing angles. Our different points of view result in two different truths for a single reality!

This discovery has, of course, an ethical bearing. It suggests the respect of the Other’s opinion, because everyone may see the same nature from a different point of view. Whether one is a tanner or musician, a monk or gas-station attendant, a mechanic or physicist, all of us can know the same reality.

This discovery also tells us that we are equal observers, although different because of our situation, and that plurality and diversity are not contrary to the principle of equality.

Finally, this diversity of “truths” imposes upon us a spirit of tolerance. Nature tells us that there is a wealth in reality, and that it is up to us to discover it.


CD-ROM: Le Défi de l’univers (The Challenge of the Universe).
Comment: This symmetry of rotation appears beyond 100 million light-years. It is then said that the universe is isotropic. (back)