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Jody Azzouni is Professor of Philosophy at Tufts University. While Jody is best known for his nominalist stance in the philosophy of mathematics, he is also an author of fiction, non-fiction, and poetry. This is Jody's third appearance on the show. On his first appearance, episode #45, he and Robinson spoke about the debate between nominalists and platonists in the philosophy of mathematics, Jody's own deflationary stance, and some adjacent concerns about ontological commitment in both formal and informal languages. On his second appearance, episode #75, they spoke about logic, natural languages, and formal languages, and mathematics. And in this episode, they shift topics entirely, discussing Jody's upcoming book, Challenging Knowledge, which develops an original account in epistemology that seeks to thwart skeptic challenges, and which also builds off of Jody's most recent book, Attributing Knowledge: What it Means to Know Something (Oxford, 2020). Jody's Website: https://jodyazzouni.com OUTLINE 00:00 In This Episode… 01:11 Introduction 04:31 Jody and Epistemology 09:17 Foundationalism, Coherentism, and Infinitism 17:37 Knowledge and Usage 30:37 Metaknowledge and Introspection 41:43 Sortability and Traceability 50:49 Starting Place Epistemology 59:06 Cartesian Skepticism 01:06:00 Pyrrhonic Skepticism 01:14:16 The Difficulty of Epistemology and Mathematics 01:18:32 Internalism and Externalism 01:22:47 Fallibility Robinson's Website: http://robinsonerhardt.com Robinson Erhardt researches symbolic logic and the foundations of mathematics at Stanford University. Join him in conversations with philosophers, scientists, weightlifters, artists, and everyone in-between. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/robinson-erhardt/support
Jody Azzouni is Professor of Philosophy at Tufts University. While Jody is best known for his nominalist stance in the philosophy of mathematics, he is also an author of fiction, non-fiction, and poetry. Robinson and Jody discuss one of Jody's poems in detail before moving on to the philosophy of mathematics and logic. They go over the distinction between natural and formal languages, the roles and varieties of proof in mathematics, and whether mathematics can have foundations. This is Jody's second appearance on Robinson's podcast. On his first appearance, episode #45, he and Robinson spoke about the debate between nominalists and platonists in the philosophy of mathematics, Jody's own deflationary stance, and some adjacent concerns about ontological commitment in both formal and informal languages. His latest book is Attributing Knowledge: What it Means to Know Something (Oxford, 2020). Jody's Website: https://jodyazzouni.com OUTLINE: 00:00 In This Episode… 00:40 Introduction 4:48 “Colored Themes” by Jody Azzouni 36:59 The Difference Between Formal and Natural Languages 1:02:37 The Nature of Mathematical Proof 1:20:36 Can Mathematics Still Have Foundations? 1:26:36 Jody's Course on Philosophy of Math 1:31:01 Mathematics as a Social Practice 1:37:23 Revolutions in Mathematics 1:40:35 “February” by Giles Goodland Robinson's Website: http://robinsonerhardt.com Robinson Erhardt researches symbolic logic and the foundations of mathematics at Stanford University. Join him in conversations with philosophers, scientists, weightlifters, artists, and everyone in-between. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/robinson-erhardt/support
Jody Azzouni is a professor of philosophy at Tufts University. While Jody is best known for his nominalist stance in the philosophy of mathematics, he is also an author of fiction, non-fiction, and poetry. He and Robinson talk about his love of writing and how his interest in mathematics bloomed during in his time spent at NYU and CUNY. They then move on to the debate between nominalists and platonists in the philosophy of mathematics, Jody's own deflationary stance, and some adjacent concerns about ontological commitment in both formal and informal languages. Outline: 00:00 Introduction 3:16 Jody's Writing Background 9:05 Jody's Poetry 21:20 The Relationship Between Jody's Philosophy and Everything Else 32:33 Jody's Interest in the Philosophy of Mathematics 40:02 The Platonist/Nominalist Opposition in the Philosophy of Mathematics 49:29 The Platonist Conception of Mathematical Objects 52:50 A Nominalist Argument Against Mathematical Realism 1:09:41 Varieties of Mathematical Nominalism 1:18:55 Nominalism in Mathematics and Metaphysics 1:24:39 Ontological Commitment in the Vernacular 1:35:30 A Poetry Reading Linktree: https://linktr.ee/robinsonerhardt Twitter: https://twitter.com/robinsonerhardt YouTube (Robinson's Podcast): youtube.com/@robinsonspodcast Apple (Robinson's Podcast) : https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/robinsons-podcast/id1636469402 Spotify (Robinson's Podcast): https://open.spotify.com/show/1yYNtEI6kpemLJMlYHVi2d Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/robinsonerhardt/ Twitch (Robinson Eats): https://www.twitch.tv/robinsonerhardt YouTube (Robinson Eats): youtube.com/@robinsoneats TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@robinsonerhardt --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/robinson-erhardt/support
Sean Carroll's Mindscape: Science, Society, Philosophy, Culture, Arts, and Ideas
Are numbers real? What does that even mean? You can't kick a number. But you can talk about numbers in useful ways, and we use numbers to talk about the real world. There's surely a kind of reality there. On the other hand, Luke Skywalker isn't a real person, but we talk about him all the time. Maybe we can talk about unreal things in useful ways. Jody Azzouni is one of the leading contemporary advocates of nominalism, the view that abstract objects are not “things,” they are merely labels we use in talking about things. A deeply philosophical issue, but one that has implications for how we think about physics and the laws of nature.Support Mindscape on Patreon.Jody Azzouni received his Ph.D. in philosophy from the City University of New York. He is currently a professor of philosophy at Tufts University. In addition to his philosophical work, he is an active writer of fiction and poetry.Web siteTufts web pagePhilPeople profileAmazon author pageWikipediaPoemHunter pageSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
It's time... for a season finale! In this timely episode, we explore the concept of time itself. Meet 10 year olds Madrona, Audrey, Zea, Isla and Claudia and answer Ari's time-related questions with them. Dig a little deeper on this mind-boggling topic with Tufts University's Philosophy professor Jody Azzouni. We'll also have time for Bad Dad, biZaRrE ASMR, Nerd Out and a little 'What If World' related bonus. Cover art by Audrey Walters and Madrona Spaly. LINKS: Our esteemed guest: Professor Jody Azzouni of Tufts University
This is my interview breakdown of Episode 33 - my conversation with Dr. Jody Azzouni about the metaphysics of mathematics. The first half of our conversation was about existence, the nature of language, and whether we can say true things about objects that don't exist.
It's after a cataclysm of some sorts, a post-apocalyptic moment etched in miniature in Jody Azzouni's "The Ghostzoo". As a father and his daughter eke out an existence from the meager remnants of their former world, the little girl plays with a dollhouse. She learns as she plays about the world that is lost to her, until new arrivals start a new and perplexing cycle of creation and disappearance.
A common philosophical picture of language proposes to begin with the various kinds of communicative acts individuals perform by means of language. This view has it that communication proceeds largely by way of interpretation, where we hear the sounds others make, and infer from those sounds the communicative intentions of speakers. On this view, communication is a highly deliberate affair, involving complex mediating processes of inference and interpersonal reasoning. In his new book, Semantic Perception: How the Illusion of a Common Language Arises and Persists (Oxford University Press 2013), Jody Azzouni accepts the idea that we must begin theorizing language from the perspective of language use. But nonetheless he rejects this common picture. In fact, Azzouni argues that the common view actually misconstrues our experience as communicators. On Azzouni’s alternative, we involuntarily perceive language items as public objects that have meaning properties independently of speaker intentions. Put differently, Azzouni argues that meaning is perceived, not inferred, much in the way we perceive the properties of physical objects. And yet he also argues that our perception of there being a common language– such as English– which supplies a common vehicle for communication is a kind of inescapable collective illusion. What’s more, Azzouni argues that the view that a common language is an illusion makes better sense of our experiences and practices with language. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
A common philosophical picture of language proposes to begin with the various kinds of communicative acts individuals perform by means of language. This view has it that communication proceeds largely by way of interpretation, where we hear the sounds others make, and infer from those sounds the communicative intentions of speakers. On this view, communication is a highly deliberate affair, involving complex mediating processes of inference and interpersonal reasoning. In his new book, Semantic Perception: How the Illusion of a Common Language Arises and Persists (Oxford University Press 2013), Jody Azzouni accepts the idea that we must begin theorizing language from the perspective of language use. But nonetheless he rejects this common picture. In fact, Azzouni argues that the common view actually misconstrues our experience as communicators. On Azzouni’s alternative, we involuntarily perceive language items as public objects that have meaning properties independently of speaker intentions. Put differently, Azzouni argues that meaning is perceived, not inferred, much in the way we perceive the properties of physical objects. And yet he also argues that our perception of there being a common language– such as English– which supplies a common vehicle for communication is a kind of inescapable collective illusion. What’s more, Azzouni argues that the view that a common language is an illusion makes better sense of our experiences and practices with language. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
A common philosophical picture of language proposes to begin with the various kinds of communicative acts individuals perform by means of language. This view has it that communication proceeds largely by way of interpretation, where we hear the sounds others make, and infer from those sounds the communicative intentions of speakers. On this view, communication is a highly deliberate affair, involving complex mediating processes of inference and interpersonal reasoning. In his new book, Semantic Perception: How the Illusion of a Common Language Arises and Persists (Oxford University Press 2013), Jody Azzouni accepts the idea that we must begin theorizing language from the perspective of language use. But nonetheless he rejects this common picture. In fact, Azzouni argues that the common view actually misconstrues our experience as communicators. On Azzouni’s alternative, we involuntarily perceive language items as public objects that have meaning properties independently of speaker intentions. Put differently, Azzouni argues that meaning is perceived, not inferred, much in the way we perceive the properties of physical objects. And yet he also argues that our perception of there being a common language– such as English– which supplies a common vehicle for communication is a kind of inescapable collective illusion. What’s more, Azzouni argues that the view that a common language is an illusion makes better sense of our experiences and practices with language. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
A common philosophical picture of language proposes to begin with the various kinds of communicative acts individuals perform by means of language. This view has it that communication proceeds largely by way of interpretation, where we hear the sounds others make, and infer from those sounds the communicative intentions of speakers. On this view, communication is a highly deliberate affair, involving complex mediating processes of inference and interpersonal reasoning. In his new book, Semantic Perception: How the Illusion of a Common Language Arises and Persists (Oxford University Press 2013), Jody Azzouni accepts the idea that we must begin theorizing language from the perspective of language use. But nonetheless he rejects this common picture. In fact, Azzouni argues that the common view actually misconstrues our experience as communicators. On Azzouni's alternative, we involuntarily perceive language items as public objects that have meaning properties independently of speaker intentions. Put differently, Azzouni argues that meaning is perceived, not inferred, much in the way we perceive the properties of physical objects. And yet he also argues that our perception of there being a common language– such as English– which supplies a common vehicle for communication is a kind of inescapable collective illusion. What's more, Azzouni argues that the view that a common language is an illusion makes better sense of our experiences and practices with language.