47: Achille Varzi: Metaphysics, Ontology, & Nominalism

Achille Varzi is the John Dewey Professor of Philosophy at Columbia University and Bruno Kessler Honorary Professor at the University of Trento. He is a world-renowned metaphysicist and logician, and widely regarded as the greatest living mereologist. Yet despite all this Robinson asks Achille about his sleep habits, though afterward they discuss some more important philosophical questions: What is ontology? What is metaphysics, and how is it different from physics? After some tangents on nominalism and truthmakers, the conversation ends with a reflection on some of the late Saul Kripke’s contributions to philosophy. Linktree: https://linktr.ee/robinsonerhardt Outline: 00:00 How Kangaroos Got Their Name 00:52 Introduction 4:54 Achille’s Start in Philosophy 11:24 Some Thoughts on Wittgenstein 16:57 Writing Philosophy in a Second Language 23:01 Achille’s Absurd Sleeping Habits 30:41 What is Metaphysics? 43:01 Distinguishing Physics From Metaphysics 50:48 Ontology, Metaphysics, and Truthmakers 01:23:37 Saul Kripke's Contributions to Philosophy 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.