137 | Justin Clarke-Doane on Mathematics, Morality, Objectivity, and Reality

<p>On a spectrum of philosophical topics, one might be tempted to put mathematics and morality on opposite ends. Math is one of the most pristine and rigorously-developed areas of human thought, while morality is notoriously contentious and resistant to consensus. But the more you dig into the depths, the more alike these two fields appear to be. Justin Clarke-Doane argues that they are very much alike indeed, especially when it comes to questions of “reality” and “objectivity” — but that they aren’t quite exactly analogous. We get a little bit into the weeds, but this is a case where close attention will pay off.</p><p><em>Support Mindscape on&nbsp;</em><a href="https://www.patreon.com/seanmcarroll" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>Patreon</em></a><em>.</em></p><p>Justin Clarke-Doane received his Ph.D. in philosophy from New York University. He is currently Associate Professor of philosophy at Columbia University, as well as an Honorary Research Fellow at the University of Birmingham and Adjunct Research Associate at Monash University. His book&nbsp;<a href="https://global.oup.com/academic/product/morality-and-mathematics-9780198823667?cc=us&amp;lang=en&amp;" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>Morality and Mathematics</em></a>&nbsp;was published in 2020.</p><ul><li><a href="http://www.columbia.edu/~jc4345/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Web site</a></li><li><a href="https://philosophy.columbia.edu/directories/faculty/justin-clarke-doane" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Columbia web page</a></li><li><a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=XBzZN9sAAAAJ&amp;hl=en" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Google Scholar publications</a></li><li><a href="http://www.whatisitliketobeaphilosopher.com/justin-clarkedoane" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Interview at What Is It Like to Be a Philosopher?</a></li><li><a href="http://heymancenter.org/events/celebrating-recent-work-by-justin-clarke-doane/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Hey