Lecture: Dr. Jody Azzouni on Why There Are No Numbers  

On Thursday, March 21st from 5:15 to 6:45 p.m. in the Chancellor's Suite, the Philosophy Department and Mathematics and Computer Science Department will hold a joint lecture. This lecture brings to campus the well-known professor Jody Azzouni to discuss "Why There Are No Numbers (and Why Anyone Ever Thought There Were)."

Dr. Azzouni is Professor of Philosophy at Tufts University and works on the philosophy of mathematics, language, and other areas. His talk will discuss one of the perennial questions in philosophy and is intended for a wide audience. It has often been noted that philosophy begins with wonder about numbers (Plato's interest in the mathematical realm, Pythagorean mysticism). But what precisely are numbers? If they exist, what kinds of things are they, and how can we know them? Dr. Azzouni will explain his answers to these questions. His works on this subject include Metaphysical Myths, Mathematical Practice (Cambridge), and Talking about Nothing: Numbers, Hallucinations, and Fictions (Oxford).

Professor Azzouni holds a Ph.D. from the City University of New York and is a New York native.

Please join us for this very interesting talk sponsored by the College of Arts and Sciences.