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.