The Higgs Mass and a Perspective on Broken Autonomy of Scales

The hierarchy problem of the Higgs mass, the violation of the autonomy of far-distant energy scales, is identified as a pseudo-problem. The pseudo-problem is based on the dogmatic adherence to the methodology of effective theories, for which there is no justification when dealing with presumably fundamental phenomena such as the Higgs mechanism. In view of further breaches of autonomy of scales in fundamental principles outside particle physics, the hierarchy problem is instead reinterpreted as an indication of the fundamental ontological status of the Higgs boson. Selective Realism justifies this attribution within the effective theories of the standard model of particle physics. Moreover, a model of changes in aesthetic canons provides an explanation for the existing dogmatism regarding effective theories.