Sean Carroll's Mindscape: Science, Society, Philosophy, Culture, Arts, and Ideas

178 | Jody Azzouni on What Is and Isn't Real

Jan 3, 2022

In this discussion, Jody Azzouni, a philosophy professor at Tufts University and a proponent of nominalism, dives into the intriguing nature of reality. He explores whether abstract objects like numbers are truly 'real' or simply useful labels. The conversation delves into the nuances of existence, comparing fictional entities to tangible ones, while also critiquing the traditional Greek models of mathematical proof. Azzouni emphasizes how language shapes our perception of reality, inviting listeners to rethink what we define as 'real'.

01:14:31

Episode guests

Jody Azzouni

AI Chapters

Episode notes

Intro

6min

Exploring the Nature of Reality

10min

Exploring the Nature of Existence and Reality

4min

Exploring Existence: Fiction vs. Reality

19min

Exploring the Limits of Justification in Philosophy

2min

Exploring Nominalism and the Nature of Existence

2min

Exploring Existence Through Language

5min

The Philosophy of Mathematics in Physics

28min

Exploring the Interplay of Poetry and Philosophy

2min

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.

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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.

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