What We Do When We Do What We Do and Why We Do It

But what exactly am I talking about when I speak of symmetry and asymmetry in law and ethics? It may be clear enough what those notions mean in geometry, but how are they to be understood in law, or for that matter in ethics, more generally? Let me start with symmetry- its meaning and the benefits of exploring it. Rather than try to define the term, however, I will offer what I think is a pretty self-explanatory example of the phenomenon as it arises in law and ethics.

It is an example that has fascinated me for quite some time: the symmetry between the principles by which we dispense praise and those by which we dispense blame.