Jody Azzouni
Encyclopedia
Jody Azzouni is an American philosopher, short fiction writer, and poet. He currently is Professor of Philosophy at Tufts University
.
and master's degree
from New York University
and his PhD from the City University of New York
.
(he holds a degree in mathematics), science
, logic
, language
and in areas of metaphysics
, epistemology, and aesthetics
. He acknowledges, as do many of his peers, a debt to the renowned philosopher, Willard Van Orman Quine
. Azzouni is of the nominalist bent and has centered much of his philosophical efforts around defending nominalism
.
One of his most distinctive positions is the as yet controversial claim that mathematical objects don't exist. Yet, unlike Hartry Field
, he believes that the existence claims of mathematics are in fact literally true. That is, some of the existential quantifiers in our ordinary speech carry ontological commitment
, but some don't. There is no standard way to indicate which are which, but we can generally tell by context. When someone asks "How many prime number
s are there between 10 and 20?", we understand it in the non-committing way, and answer "4". However, when asked "Are there actually any numbers?", we understand it in the committing way, and he suggests we should answer "No".
Tufts University
Tufts University is a private research university located in Medford/Somerville, near Boston, Massachusetts. It is organized into ten schools, including two undergraduate programs and eight graduate divisions, on four campuses in Massachusetts and on the eastern border of France...
.
Education
He received his bachelor's degreeBachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for three or four years, but can range anywhere from two to six years depending on the region of the world...
and master's degree
Master's degree
A master's is an academic degree granted to individuals who have undergone study demonstrating a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice...
from New York University
New York University
New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
and his PhD from the City University of New York
City University of New York
The City University of New York is the public university system of New York City, with its administrative offices in Yorkville in Manhattan. It is the largest urban university in the United States, consisting of 23 institutions: 11 senior colleges, six community colleges, the William E...
.
Current Work and Philosophical Positions
Azzouni is currently working on the philosophy of mathematicsMathematics
Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...
(he holds a degree in mathematics), science
Science
Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe...
, logic
Logic
In philosophy, Logic is the formal systematic study of the principles of valid inference and correct reasoning. Logic is used in most intellectual activities, but is studied primarily in the disciplines of philosophy, mathematics, semantics, and computer science...
, language
Language
Language may refer either to the specifically human capacity for acquiring and using complex systems of communication, or to a specific instance of such a system of complex communication...
and in areas of metaphysics
Metaphysics
Metaphysics is a branch of philosophy concerned with explaining the fundamental nature of being and the world, although the term is not easily defined. Traditionally, metaphysics attempts to answer two basic questions in the broadest possible terms:...
, epistemology, and aesthetics
Aesthetics
Aesthetics is a branch of philosophy dealing with the nature of beauty, art, and taste, and with the creation and appreciation of beauty. It is more scientifically defined as the study of sensory or sensori-emotional values, sometimes called judgments of sentiment and taste...
. He acknowledges, as do many of his peers, a debt to the renowned philosopher, Willard Van Orman Quine
Willard Van Orman Quine
Willard Van Orman Quine was an American philosopher and logician in the analytic tradition...
. Azzouni is of the nominalist bent and has centered much of his philosophical efforts around defending nominalism
Nominalism
Nominalism is a metaphysical view in philosophy according to which general or abstract terms and predicates exist, while universals or abstract objects, which are sometimes thought to correspond to these terms, do not exist. Thus, there are at least two main versions of nominalism...
.
One of his most distinctive positions is the as yet controversial claim that mathematical objects don't exist. Yet, unlike Hartry Field
Hartry Field
Hartry H. Field is a philosopher, the Silver Professor of Philosophy at New York University. He previously taught at the University of Southern California and The Graduate Center of the City University of New York. He earned his Ph.D...
, he believes that the existence claims of mathematics are in fact literally true. That is, some of the existential quantifiers in our ordinary speech carry ontological commitment
Ontological commitment
In the philosophy of language and metaphysics, an ontological commitment is said to be necessary in order to make a proposition in which the existence of one thing is presupposed or implied by asserting the existence of another. We are “committed” to the existence of the second thing, even though...
, but some don't. There is no standard way to indicate which are which, but we can generally tell by context. When someone asks "How many prime number
Prime number
A prime number is a natural number greater than 1 that has no positive divisors other than 1 and itself. A natural number greater than 1 that is not a prime number is called a composite number. For example 5 is prime, as only 1 and 5 divide it, whereas 6 is composite, since it has the divisors 2...
s are there between 10 and 20?", we understand it in the non-committing way, and answer "4". However, when asked "Are there actually any numbers?", we understand it in the committing way, and he suggests we should answer "No".
Other work
In addition to his philosophical endeavors, Azzouni has published numerous short stories. His book of poetry entitled The Lust For Blueprints contains his signature mix of humor and the macabre.Philosophy
- Metaphysical Myths, Mathematical Practice: The Ontology and Epistemology of the Exact Sciences (1994)
- Knowledge and Reference in Empirical Science (2000)
- Deflating Existential Consequence: A Case for Nominalism (2004)
- Tracking Reason: Proof, Consequence and Truth (2006)
- Talking About Nothing: Numbers, Hallucinations and Fictions (2010)
Poetry
- The Lust for Blueprints The Poet's Press (1999) ISBN 0922558078 ISBN 978-0922558070
- Hereafter Landscapes The Poet's Press (2010) ISBN 0-922558-42-6