Timothy Williamson on Relativism and Vagueness | Episode 8

Philosophical Trials

Professor Timothy Williamson is one of the most important philosophers alive. He is the Wykeham Professor of Logic at the University of Oxford, a position that he has been holding since 2000. His groundbreaking work in the areas of philosophical logic, philosophy of language, epistemology and metaphysics has shaped many of the contemporary debates. Today I’m joined by him to discuss Relativism about Truth and the Epistemic account of Vagueness. Enjoy!
Conversation outline:
00:00 Introduction: What is Philosophy?
03:11 Can Philosophy help you have a better life?
06:47 What’s the story behind your book “Tetralogue”? A discussion on relativism about truth
12:44 Relativism about matters of taste
20:21 Moral relativism
29:47 Tips for finding out the truth about various issues
35:34 Vagueness and Classical Logic
48:20 Sharp cut-offs
52:40 Epistemicism says that you cannot know these cut-offs: why is that?
56:59 Baldness is not really a function of the number of hairs. Does your account apply to situations which are “non-discrete” situations?
01:01:47 How can a colour predicate (e.g. “_ is red”) latch on to an objective property out there in the world when people may have different perceptions?
01:05:37 If the properties expressed by predicates are person independent, wouldn’t this change the ramifications and implications of the epistemic view?
Enjoy!
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