b. 1954
Jody Azzouni is an American philosopher known for his work in philosophy of mathematics, philosophy of language, and metaphysics. He is best known for defending a nominalist position he calls 'deflationary nominalism,' arguing that mathematical objects do not exist despite the indispensability of mathematics to science. He is a professor of philosophy at Tufts University.
Developed deflationary nominalism in philosophy of mathematics
Authored 'Deflating Existential Consequence: A Case for Nominalism' (2004)
Distinguished ontological commitment from quantifier commitment
Contributed to philosophy of language and theories of reference
Wrote 'Semantic Perception' and 'Talking About Nothing'