123 - Paul Boghossian: The Sokal Hoax, The A Priori, and Moral Facts

Paul Boghossian is Silver Professor of Philosophy at New York University, where he is also Chair of the Philosophy Department. Paul has worked in a wide variety of areas within philosophy, including epistemology and the philosophy of language, mind, and logic respectively. Robinson and Paul discuss the sociological relationship between physics and philosophy, the Sokal Hoax, philosophy in public life, the role of the a priori and a posteriori distinction in metaphysics, logic, and epistemology, and the nature of moral facts. For more detail on the latter, check out Paul’s book with Timothy Williamson, Debating The A Priori (Oxford, 2020).

Debating The A Priori: https://a.co/d/diNADPx

OUTLINE

00:00 In This Episode…

00:32 Introduction

04:33 Physics and Philosophy

17:12 The Sokal Hoax

26:52 Distinguishing the A Priori and A Posteriori

31:59 Does The A Priori/A Posteriori Distinction Hold Water?

48:07 Clarifying the Distinction

53:51 Debating the A Priori with Timothy Williamson

01:03:11 Are There Moral Facts?

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.